Evaluation of metal artifacts reduction with MAVRIC-SL after total knee arthroplasty / 中华放射学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To evaluate the metal artifacts reduction effect of multi-acquisition variable-resonance image combination (MAVRIC-SL) after total knee arthroplasty by comparing with two-dimensional fast spin-echo metal artifact reduction sequence (2D FSE MARS).Methods:A total of 78 patients (101 knees) who underwent total knee arthroplasty in Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital from December 2018 to December 2020 were prospectively collected. All patients underwent 3.0 T MR examination within 2 weeks after surgery. The sequences included axial, sagittal, and coronal 2D FSE MARS and MAVRIC-SL. The ranges of prosthesis artifacts were measured, and the scores of the prosthesis clarity, anatomical structure clarity, and joint effusion diagnosis confidence were evaluated by Likert scale. Paired t test was used to compare the difference of artifact range between 2D FSE MARS and MAVRIC-SL. The Wilcoxon signed rank-sum test was used to compare image quality scores and joint effusion diagnosis confidence scores. Results:In 101 knees, the ranges of prosthesis artifacts in axial, sagittal, and coronal 2D FSE MARS were (63.3±8.5), (60.0±7.4) and (62.1±8.7) cm 2, while those of MAVRIC-SL were (49.5±5.8), (44.1±6.6) and (46.1±7.5) cm 2. The differences were statistically significant ( t=20.021, 21.834, 25.472, all P<0.001). The subjective scores of femoral prosthesis clarity, tibial prosthesis clarity, and anatomical structure clarity of MAVRIC-SL were significantly higher than those of 2D FSE MARS (all P<0.001). Confidence scores of 2D FSE MARS and MAVRIC-SL for diagnosing joint effusion were 2 (1, 3) and 3 (2, 3), respectively, and the difference was statistically significant ( Z=6.549, P<0.001). Conclusion:Compared with 2D FSE MARS, MAVRIC-SL can further reduce the metal artifacts in total knee arthroplasty and improve the diagnostic confidence of joint effusion.