Reliability in detection and differentiation between calcification and hemorrhage by 3 d GRE/ SWI technique compared to CT

ABSTRACT

This study was conducted to evaluate the sensitivity of Magnetic Resonance (MR) Susceptibility- Weighted Imaging (SWI) and also to compare the sensitivity of Magnetic Resonance (MR) susceptibility-Weighted Imaging (SWI) and Computed Tomography (CT), such that SWI can replace the use of CT as a standard protocol in the detection and differentiation between calcification and hemorrhage. A series of 70 patients included in this study with clinical suspicion or known history of intracranial hemorrhage/ calcifications for follow up, were scanned using both Philips Multiva 1.5T (MRI/SWI) and Philips Ingenuity 128 slice (CT). Results showed that SWI had 100% relative sensitivity, as it was able to detect both hemorrhage and calcifications in all the cases identified in CT. In addition, SWI detected hemorrhage in 2 additional cases that were nonspecific in CT. Furthermore, SWI detected signal from micro bleeds, which was missed on CT in three cases, and also detected calcification in two cases, which were not positively identified in CT. In conclusion, Susceptibility- Weighted Imaging (SWI) is highly sensitive for the detection and differentiation of hemorrhage and calcifications using Phase reconstructed images compared to conventional MRI methods and Computed Tomography