Objective

To explore the value of 3D T2FFE sequence in displaying lumbosacral plexus.

Methods

A total of 9 healthy volunteers and 10 patients with lumbar and sacral pain were performed with routine MRI scanning of lumbosacral vertebra, 3D T2FFE sequence scanning and PROSET sequence scanning. The SNR nerve root, SNR muscle, and CNR nerve root/muscle values of the two sequences were measured and calculated on the original diagram. The 3D MIP reconstruction was performed on the workstation with the scanning results. On the original diagram and the MIP reconstruction diagram, the display of the morphology of each segment of the lumbosacral nerve and the background inhibition of the two sequences were compared using the 4-grade scoring method. SPSS 22.0 was applied to do the two paired sample t tests for the two groups of data.

Results

SNR nerve root value and CNR nerve root/muscle value of 3D T2FFE sequence were both higher than those of PROSET sequence( were 150.337±14.977 vs． 138.023±11.170，P>0.05；0.214±0.082 ± 73. 924 vs．0.113±0.039，P ＜ 0. 05), while SNR muscle value of 3D T2FFE sequence was lower than that of PROSET sequence(was 66.985±24.621 vs．108.922±42.280，P ＜ 0. 05). The scores of 3D T2FFE sequence for displaying the lumbar plexus, sacral plexus and its branches, lumbosacral trunk, femoral nerve, sciatic nerve and obturator nerve were higher than those of PROSET sequence( were 2.947±0.053 vs．2.790±0.419，2.316±0.134 vs．1.945±0.143，1.790±0.419 vs．1.632±0.496，1.632±0.597 vs．0.105±0.315，1.842±0.086 vs． 1.739±0.104，1.842±0.375 vs．1.158±0.375). The scores of sacral plexus, femoral nerve and obturator nerve between two sequences were P < 0.05, with statistical difference, while those of lumbar plexus, lumbosacral trunk and sciatic nerve were P > 0.05, without statistical difference.

Conclusion

Both 3D T2FFE and PROSET sequences can display the morphology of the lumbosacral plexus. These two sequences have obvious advantages in displaying the anatomical structure and details of the lumbosacral plexus. However, compared with PROSET sequences, 3D T2FFE has good T2 effect, good background suppression and higher contrast. 3D T2FFE sequence can visually and clearly show the lumbosacral plexus, which has good clinical application value and is worth promoting.

Acknowledgements

No acknowledgement found.

References

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