Turbo spin echo and echo planar imaging diffusion tensor imaging for displaying temporal lobe radiation encephalopathy
Objective To compare image quality of turbo spin echo(TSE)diffusion tensor imaging(DTI)and echo planar imaging(EPI)DTI for displaying temporal lobe radiation encephalopathy(REP).Methods Thirty nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients with suspected REP disease progression were prospectively enrolled.Subjective evaluation of image sharpness,susceptibility artifacts and deformation of TSE-DTI and EPI-DTI was performed using a 5-point scale,while objective evaluation aimed on the mean diffusion coefficient(MD),fractional anisotropic(FA),signal-to-noise ratio(SNR),contrast-to-noise ratio(CNR)and distortion ratio(DR)were carried on.Results The susceptibility artifacts and deformation scores of TSE-DTI were higher than that of EPI-DTI(P<0.001).FA of REP edge and normal brain tissue were lower than those of EPI-DTI,with SNR and CNR higher than those of EPI-DTI(both P<0.001).DR of REP lesions and bilateral temporal lobes were lower than those of EPI-DTI(all P<0.001).Conclusion Compared with EPI-DTI,TSE-DTI could significantly improve image quality for displaying REP by reducing susceptibility artifacts and deformation of images.