• Sven Haller, Anette Davidsson, Anders Tisell, Miguel Ochoa-Figueroa, and Charalampos Georgiopoulos.
• CIMC - Centre d'Imagerie Médicale de Cornavin, Geneva, Switzerland.
• J Neuroimaging. 2022 Mar 1; 32 (2): 273-278.

Background And PurposeSusceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) of nigrosome-1 is an emerging and clinically applicable imaging marker for parkinsonism, which can be derived from routinely performed brain MRI. The purpose of the study was to assess whether SWI can be used as a triage tool for more efficient selection of subsequent Dopamine Transporter Scan (DaTSCAN) single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT).MethodsWe examined 72 consecutive patients with suspected parkinsonism with both DaTSCAN SPECT and SWI (48 in Philips Ingenia, 24 in GE Signa). Additionally, we examined 24 healthy controls with SWI (14 in Philips Ingenia, 10 in GE Signa). Diagnostic performance of SWI and DaTSCAN SPECT was assessed on the basis of clinical diagnosis, in terms of sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic accuracy.ResultsA total of 54 parkinsonism patients (69 years ± 9, 32 men), 18 nonparkinsonism patients (69.4 years ± 9, 10 men), and 24 healthy controls (62 years ± 8, 10 men) were recruited. SWI had a specificity of 92% and a sensitivity of 74%, whereas DaTSCAN SPECT had 83% and 94%, respectively. By preselecting patients with abnormal or inconclusive SWI, the diagnostic performance of DaTSCAN SPECT improved (specificity 100%, sensitivity 95%). Scans from Philips were associated with significantly lower image quality compared to GE (p < .001). The experienced rater outperformed the less experienced one in diagnostic accuracy (82% vs. 68%).ConclusionsSWI can be used as triage tool because normal SWI can in most cases rule out parkinsonism. However, the performance of SWI depends on acquisition parameters and rater's experience.© 2021 The Authors. Journal of Neuroimaging published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Society of Neuroimaging.

17 keywords...

hide…