• Melanie Bruegel, Jochen Gaa, Klaus Woertler, Carl Ganter, Simone Waldt, Claudia Hillerer, and Ernst J Rummeny.
• Department of Radiology, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany. mbruegel@roe.med.tum.de
• J Magn Reson Imaging. 2007 Jan 1; 25 (1): 73-81.

PurposeTo compare the value of different MRI sequences of the lung for the detection of pulmonary metastases.Materials And MethodsA total of 28 patients with 225 pulmonary metastases confirmed at multidetector-row computed tomography (MDCT) underwent MRI of the lung, including breathhold T2-weighted single-shot turbo spin-echo (half-Fourier single-shot turbo spin-echo [HASTE] and inversion recovery [IR]-HASTE) and conventional turbo spin-echo (TSE and short-tau inversion recovery [STIR]) sequences, a respiratory- and pulse-triggered black-blood STIR sequence (triggered STIR), and breathhold pre- and postcontrast volumetric interpolated 3D gradient-echo (VIBE) sequences. MR images were reviewed by three independent observers and results were correlated with MDCT, which served as standard of reference. Lesion-to-lung contrast-to-noise ratios (CNRs) and image artifacts were also assessed.ResultsCNRs were highest on TSE images (P < 0.001). Mean sensitivities for lesion detection with triggered STIR, TSE, and STIR were 72.0%, 69.0%, and 63.4%, respectively. With HASTE, IR-HASTE, and pre- and postcontrast VIBE, significantly lower sensitivities were obtained (P < 0.05), although artifacts due to physiological motion were less distinct with these sequences compared to TSE and STIR (P < 0.05).ConclusionConventional TSE sequences are more sensitive in depicting pulmonary metastases than single-shot TSE or 3D gradient-echo sequences. Respiratory and pulse triggering can improve lesion detection, but increases acquisition time substantially.

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