3D MERGE序列在腰骶丛神经成像中的应用

Application of 3D MERGE sequence in MRI of lumbosacral plexus

目的探讨3D MERGE序列在显示腰骶丛神经根的临床应用价值。方法对31例怀疑腰骶椎病变患者行常规腰骶椎MRI扫描后加扫3D MERGE序列及STIR序列扫描。将扫描结果在工作站行三维MIP重建,比较两种方法对腰骶丛神经根的显示情况,同时比较图像信噪比和对比噪声比。结果 3D MERGE和STIR两种序列都能显示腰骶丛神经的形态和走行,但3D MERGE序列在显示腰骶丛神经的解剖结构及细节方面优于STIR序列,其图像信噪比和对比噪声比均高于STIR序列(P<0.05),且扫描时间明显缩短,病人容易耐受。结论 3D MERGE序列能直观清晰地显示腰骶丛神经的走行,具有很好的临床应用价值,值得推广使用。

Objective To investigate the efficacy of the three-dimensional multiple echo recalled gradient-echo（3D MERGE）sequence in MR imaging of lumbosacral plexus. Methods 31 patients with lumbosacral vertebral lesions underwent MRI including 3D MERGE and STIR sequences..The source images were post-processed by using maximum intensity projection.（MIP）.on the workstation. The image quality of lumbosacral plexus, the signal to noise ratio（SNR） and contrast to noise ratio（CNR） of both sequences were compared..Results 3D MERGE was significantly superior to STIR sequence for visualizing the lumbosacral plexus anatomy with higher SNR and CNR（P〈0.05）. The scan time of 3D MERGE was shorter than that of STIR sequence. Conclusion3 D MERGE sequence can clearly display the lumbosacral plexus and is clinically useful.