TY - JOUR
T1 - T2-mapping of the sacroiliac joints at 1.5 Tesla: a feasibility and reproducibility study
AU - Midiri, Massimo
AU - Lagalla, Roberto
AU - Albano, Domenico
AU - Galia, Massimo
AU - Ciccia, Francesco
AU - Sconfienza, Luca Maria
AU - Cuocolo, Renato
AU - Chianca, Vito
AU - Brunetti, Arturo
AU - Bignone, Rodolfo
PY - 2018
Y1 - 2018
N2 - Objective: To evaluate the reproducibility of T2 relaxation time measurements of the sacroiliac joints at 1.5 T. Materials and methods: Healthy volunteers underwent an oblique axial multislice multiecho spin-echo sequence of the sacroiliac joints at 1.5 T. Regions of interest were manually drawn using a dedicated software by two musculoskeletal radiologists to include the cartilaginous part of the sacroiliac joints. A senior radiologist performed the measurement twice, while a resident measured once. Intra- and inter-observer reproducibility was tested using the Bland-Altman method. Association between sex and T2 relaxation times was tested using the Mann-Whitney U test. Correlation between T2 relaxation times and body mass index (BMI) was tested using the Spearman’s rho. Results: Eighty sacroiliac joints of 40 subjects (mean age: 28 ± 4.8 years, range: 20–43; mean BMI: 23.3 ± 3.1, range: 18.9–30) were imaged. The mean T2 values obtained by the senior radiologist in the first series of measurements were 42 ± 4.4 ms, whereas in the second series were 40.7 ± 4.5 ms. The mean T2 values obtained by the radiology resident were 41.1 ± 4.2 ms. Intra-observer reproducibility was 88% (coefficient of repeatability = 3.8; bias = 1.28; p <.001), while inter-observer reproducibility was 86% (4.7; −.88; p <.001). There was significant association between sex and T2 relaxation times (p =.024) and significant inverse correlation between T2 relaxation times and BMI (r = −.340, p =.002). Conclusion: The assessment of T2 relaxation time measurements of sacroiliac joints seems to be highly reproducible at 1.5 T. Further studies could investigate the potential clinical application of this tool in the sacroiliac joints.
AB - Objective: To evaluate the reproducibility of T2 relaxation time measurements of the sacroiliac joints at 1.5 T. Materials and methods: Healthy volunteers underwent an oblique axial multislice multiecho spin-echo sequence of the sacroiliac joints at 1.5 T. Regions of interest were manually drawn using a dedicated software by two musculoskeletal radiologists to include the cartilaginous part of the sacroiliac joints. A senior radiologist performed the measurement twice, while a resident measured once. Intra- and inter-observer reproducibility was tested using the Bland-Altman method. Association between sex and T2 relaxation times was tested using the Mann-Whitney U test. Correlation between T2 relaxation times and body mass index (BMI) was tested using the Spearman’s rho. Results: Eighty sacroiliac joints of 40 subjects (mean age: 28 ± 4.8 years, range: 20–43; mean BMI: 23.3 ± 3.1, range: 18.9–30) were imaged. The mean T2 values obtained by the senior radiologist in the first series of measurements were 42 ± 4.4 ms, whereas in the second series were 40.7 ± 4.5 ms. The mean T2 values obtained by the radiology resident were 41.1 ± 4.2 ms. Intra-observer reproducibility was 88% (coefficient of repeatability = 3.8; bias = 1.28; p <.001), while inter-observer reproducibility was 86% (4.7; −.88; p <.001). There was significant association between sex and T2 relaxation times (p =.024) and significant inverse correlation between T2 relaxation times and BMI (r = −.340, p =.002). Conclusion: The assessment of T2 relaxation time measurements of sacroiliac joints seems to be highly reproducible at 1.5 T. Further studies could investigate the potential clinical application of this tool in the sacroiliac joints.
KW - Cartilage; Magnetic resonance imaging; Sacroiliac joint; T2 mapping; Adult; Feasibility Studies; Female; Healthy Volunteers; Humans; Image Enhancement; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Reproducibility of Results; Sacroiliac Joint; Radiology
KW - Nuclear Medicine and Imaging
KW - Cartilage; Magnetic resonance imaging; Sacroiliac joint; T2 mapping; Adult; Feasibility Studies; Female; Healthy Volunteers; Humans; Image Enhancement; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Reproducibility of Results; Sacroiliac Joint; Radiology
KW - Nuclear Medicine and Imaging
UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10447/338423
M3 - Article
VL - 47
SP - 1691
EP - 1696
JO - Skeletal Radiology
JF - Skeletal Radiology
SN - 0364-2348
ER -