Three-dimensional T2-weighted imaging for liver MRI: Clinical values of tissue-specific variable refocusing flip-angle turbo spin echo imaging

Purpose: To assess the clinical utility of tissue-specific variable refocusing flip-angle (VRFA) turbo-spin echo imaging for three-dimensional T2-weighted imaging (3D-T2WI) of the liver. Materials and Methods: Fifty-nine patients were scanned with three types of fat-suppressed T2WI for the comparison: two-dimensional single-shot turbo spin echo T2WI (ssT2WI), 3D-T2WI with tissue-specific VRFA (VISTA-TSV), and 3D-T2WI with low-constant VRFA (VISTA). Qualitatively, artifacts in the left and right lobes of the liver and black-blood effects in the liver were compared using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test with the Bonferroni correction. The detection and correct characterization rates of liver lesions were compared using McNemar's test. Results: VISTA-TSV showed reduced artifacts in the left and right lobes of the liver compared with VISTA (P < 0.017). The artifacts shown by VISTA-TSV were equivalent to those shown by ssT2WI. The black-blood effects of VISTA-TSV and VISTA were better than that of ssT2WI (P < 0.017). VISTA-TSV showed the best detection and correct characterization rate of liver lesions among the three imaging techniques (P < 0.05). Conclusion: 3D-T2WI with tissue-specific VRFA can reduce artifacts of the liver, sufficiently suppress the signal in blood vessels, and has a potential to improve the detection and correct characterization rates of liver lesions.