Imaging techniques should be tailored based on specific needs: short-interval multi-echo delta UTE for high-resolution bone surface rendering, suggesting its suitability for high-resolution needs like fracture detection and field echo for thorough cortical and trabecular bone analysis.
A novel prospective cross-sectional study issued in the “Journal of Clinical Medicine” revealed that delta ultrashort echo time (δUTE) offers superior contrast and differentiation between bone, ligaments, and tendons compared to the field echo (FE) and high-resolution deep learning reconstruction (HR–DLR) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques.
MRI is the preferred method for assessing knee osteoarthritis due to its detailed, non-invasive joint visualization. In this study, healthy volunteers' (n=5) knees were scanned using the three MRI techniques. δUTE provided clear images of cortical bone but toiled with trabecular detail. On the other hand, FE and FE HR–DLR procedures effectively captured both cortical and trabecular bone with high clarity.
Notably, while δUTE attained a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of around 100 and a contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) of about 40 for cortical bone, FE HR–DLR exhibited suggestively higher SNR (over 400) and CNR (over 200), underscoring its cutting-edge imaging capabilities. It should be noted that no MRI technique yet matches the computed tomography (CT) for perfect bone imaging contrast, ongoing improvements may improve MRI's utility for specific applications.
Journal of Clinical Medicine
Bone Imaging of the Knee Using Short-Interval Delta Ultrashort Echo Time and Field Echo Imaging
Won C. Bae et al.
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