Radiology, Vol 156, 429-433, Copyright © 1985 by Radiological Society of North America
Detection of hepatic metastases by proton spectroscopic imaging. Work in progress
JK Lee, JP Heiken and WT Dixon
Fourteen patients with hepatic metastases underwent magnetic resonance (MR)
imaging using both the conventional spin-echo (SE) technique and the
opposed phase of the proton spectroscopic imaging method. The opposed image
showed more lesions than the conventional SE image in five patients and
provided better contrast between the liver parenchyma and metastases in two
patients. Four of these seven patients had associated fatty infiltration of
the liver. When compared with the computed tomography (CT) scan, the
opposed image either showed more lesions or provided better contrast in six
patients, four of whom had fatty infiltration. More significantly, the MR
image showed several 1- cm lesions not shown by the CT scan in one patient.
Our study discloses the possible explanations for the increased sensitivity
of the opposed image in detecting hepatic metastases.
