Lauren M. Shapiro1, Alicia M. Jenkins1,
Kathryn J. Stevens1, Charles Q. Li1, Weitian Chen2,
Anja C.S. Brau2, Brian A. Hargreaves1, Garry E. Gold3
1Radiology, Stanford University,
Stanford, CA, United States; 2Applied Science Laboratory, GE
Healthcare, Menlo Park, CA, United States; 3Radiology,
Bioengineering, Orthopedics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States
Two-dimensional
fast spin-echo (2D-FSE) is commonly used to image the upper extremity,
however it is limited by slice gaps, partial volume artifact and poor quality
reformats. Three-dimensional fast
spin-echo (3D-FSE-Cube) overcomes these limitations by acquiring isotropic
data, allowing for reformations in oblique planes while decreasing exam time. Our study compared 2D-FSE with 3D-FSE-Cube
at 3.0T in the upper extremity.
3D-FSE-Cube demonstrated similar or significantly higher
signal-to-noise compared with 2D-FSE.
3D-FSE-Cube images were slightly worse than 2D-FSE with respect to
blurring, artifacts, and overall image quality. 3D-FSE-Cube may improve visualization of
complex upper extremity anatomy and make multiple 2D acquisitions
unnecessary.