3D MRI with CT-like bone contrast (3D-BONE): a pictorial review of clinical applications.

Abstract

BackgroundComputed tomography (CT) is the gold standard imaging modality for the assessment of 3D bony morphology but incurs the cost of ionizing radiation exposure. High-resolution 3D magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with CT-like bone contrast (CLBC) may provide an alternative to CT in allowing complete evaluation of both bony and soft tissue structures with a single MRI examination.PurposeTo review the technical aspects of an optimized stack-of-stars 3D gradient recalled echo pulse sequence method (3D-Bone) in generating 3D MR images with CLBC, and to present a pictorial review of the utility of 3D-Bone in the clinical assessment of common musculoskeletal conditions.Material and Methods3D-Bone is a black-bone imaging technique for acquiring high-resolution 3D MR images with strong CLBC, achieved by first rendering as high a signal as possible from non-cortical bone tissues, and second by minimizing signal contrast between non-cortical bone tissues.Results3D-Bone can be used in the clinical evaluation of bony morphology in common musculoskeletal conditions. Advantages include strong bone-soft tissue contrast, resistance to motion artefacts, simple hardware and software requirements, and straightforward image processing. Disadvantages include non-specificity for cortical bone, sensitivity to susceptibility artefacts, a lack of quantitative tissue measurements, as well as overall lower image resolution and bone-soft tissue contrast compared to CT.ConclusionThe use of 3D MRI pulse sequences providing CLBC such as 3D-Bone could potentially offer complete clinical evaluation of bony morphology and soft tissues with a single MRI study for certain clinical indications, negating the need for ionizing radiation exposure from CT and reducing costs.