Application of T1-weighted BLADE sequence to abdominal magnetic resonance imaging of young children: a comparison with turbo spin echo sequence

Background The image quality of abdominal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in children who cannot hold their breath has been severely impaired by motion artifacts. Purpose To evaluate the usefulness of T1-weighted (T1W) BLADE MRI for axial abdominal imaging in children who cannot hold their breath. Material and Methods Two different BLADE sequences, with and without an inversion recovery (IR-BLADE), were compared to conventional turbo-spin echo (TSE) with a high number of excitations in 18 consecutive patients who cannot hold their breath. Overall image quality, motion artifact, radial artifact, hepatic vessel sharpness, renal corticomedullary differentiation, and lesion conspicuity were retrospectively assessed by two radiologists, using 4- or 5-point scoring systems. Signal variations of each sequence were measured for a quantitative comparison. The acquisition times of the three sequences were compared. Results IR-BLADE and BLADE showed significantly improved overall image quality and reduced motion artifact compared with TSE. IR-BLADE showed significantly better hepatic vessel sharpness and corticomedullary differentiation compared to both BLADE and TSE. Radial artifacts were only observed on IR-BLADE and BLADE. In nine patients with lesions, there were no significant differences in lesion conspicuity among three sequences. Compared to TSE, both IR-BLADE and BLADE showed decreased signal variations in the liver and muscle, and an increased signal variation through air. The mean acquisition times for IR-BLADE, BLADE, and TSE were comparable. Conclusion Compared to the TSE sequence, T1W IR-BLADE for pediatric abdominal MRI resulted in improved image quality, tissue contrast with a diminished respiratory motion artifact, and a comparable acquisition time.