Gd-DTPA-enhanced short repetition time and short inversion time inversion recovery magnetic resonance imaging. Experimental and clinical assessment

To suppress both water and fat signal while retaining the high signal of Gd-DTPA enhancement, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of phantoms and 28 patients with mass lesions was done using short repetition time (TR) and short inversion time inversion recovery (STIR) sequences. Optimal STIR pulse sequences of 500 to 1000/80-100/20-30 (TR/TI/TE) were determined by an experimental study. In most instances, a signal bandwidth of +/- 8 kHz was used to increase the signal-to-noise ratio. The authors measured image contrast between lesions and adjacent fatty tissue and compared postcontrast STIR and T1-weighted spin-echo (T1-W SE) images. When the signal intensity of a lesion is 80% of adjacent fatty tissue on postcontrast T1-W SE, short TR STIR images provide better tumor delineation.