Chemical-shift MRI of pulmonary hamartomas: initial experience using a modified technique to assess nodule fat.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to show the usefulness of chemical-shift MRI in the diagnosis of intranodular fat in seven patients with pulmonary hamartomas and indeterminate CT findings. CONCLUSION: In the setting of chemical-shift MRI, the average nodule signal intensity index of pulmonary hamartomas was 45.3% (SD = 25.5%). The correlation between average nodule signal intensity and CT attenuation in Hounsfield units was -0.94. Chemical-shift MRI could be an important tool for the detection of fat in pulmonary hamartomas with inconclusive CT findings.