Veterinary radiology & ultrasound : the official journal of the American College of Veterinary Radiology and the International Veterinary Radiology Association
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Vet Radiol Ultrasound · Jul 2005
Comparative StudyComparison of fluid-attenuated inversion recovery and T2-weighted magnetic resonance images in dogs and cats with suspected brain disease.
To compare fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) and T2-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) imaging in small animal patients with suspected brain disease, paired sets of FLAIR and T2-weighted MR images of 116 dogs and cats were reviewed separately without any patient information. Images were rated as normal or abnormal using a five-point scale, and the distribution, signal intensity, and anatomic location of abnormalities were recorded. In 60 animals, both FLAIR and T2-weighted images were normal. ⋯ In the remaining two examinations, the abnormalities in FLAIR images were probably artifacts. No examples were found of intracranial abnormalities in T2-weighted images that were not visible in FLAIR images. In this study, acquiring FLAIR images in addition to T2-weighted images resulted in detection of otherwise occult abnormalities in relatively few patients.