Preliminary study on the role of 3D-FLASH-WE sequence in displaying lumbar-facet joint cartilage

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1002-7386.2016.01.003

Abstract：Objective To investigate whether 3D-FLASH-WE sequence could show clearly the lumbar-facet joint cartilage. Methods L4-5 lumbar-facet joint in 16 healthy volunteers underwent magnetic resonance imaging(MRI)scanning with four sequences including SE-T1WI,TSE-PDWI-FS,3D-FLASH-WE and 3D-FLASH-FS. After standard was unified,the images obtained by the four sequences were subjectively graded,then the signal to noise ratio(SNRs)of the lumbar-facet joint cartilage,ratio of CNR cartilage to cortical bone and ratio of CNR cartilage to spongy bone by the four sequences were measured and calculated,finally,the differences of the four sequences in displaying lumbar-facet joint cartilage were compared. Results The scores of 3D-FLASH-WE and 3D-FLASH-FS were relatively higher( mean score was 4. 67 points for both sequences),there were no significant differences in the scores between the two sequences( P ﹥ 0. 05),however,which were significantly higher than those of SE-T1WI and TSE-PDWI-FS sequences( P ﹤ 0. 05). The SNR cartilage and ratio of CNR cartilage to cortical bone identified by 3D- FLASH-WE,3D-FLASH-FS,SE-T1WI sequences were significantly higher than those by TSE-PDWI-FS sequence( P ﹤ 0. 05),but there were no significant differences in SNR cartilage and ratio of CNR cartilage to cortical bone among the former three sequences. The ratio of CNR cartilage to spongy bone by 3D-FLASH-WE and 3D-FLASH-FS sequences was relatively higher,there was no significant difference between the two sequences( P ﹥ 0. 05), however,which were significantly higher than those by SE-T1WI and TSE-PDWI-FS sequences( P ﹤ 0. 05). The scanning time of 3D-FLASH-WE was obviously shorter than that of 3D-FLASH-FS(3min 4s vs 5min 23s). Conclusion The 3D-FLASH-WE sequence can display clearly lumbar-facet joint cartilage.