RESUMO
PURPOSE: To compare knee MRI performed with the integrated parallel acquisition technique (PAT) and simultaneous multislice (SMS) turbo spin echo (TSE) T2-weighted (T2w) sequences with conventional TSE sequences in pediatric patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a retrospective IRB-approved study. Seventy-four subjects (26 male, 48 female, mean age 15.3 years, range 8-20) underwent 3-T MRI of the knee with a T2w TSE pulse sequence prototype with four-fold PAT and SMS acceleration as well as the standard PAT-only accelerated sequences. Images were anonymized and two study folders were created: one examination with only T2w PAT2 images (conventional examination) and one examination with only T2w SMS2/PAT2 sequences (SMS examination). Two readers rated examinations for 15 specific imaging findings and 5 quality metrics. Interreader agreement was measured. Signal to noise (SNR) and contrast to noise (CNR) were measured for SMS and conventional T2w sequences. RESULTS: Consensus review demonstrated diagnostic quality performance of SMS examinations with respect to all 15 structures. Average area under the curve (AROC) was 0.95 and 0.97 for readers 1 and 2, respectively. The conventional sequence was favored over SMS for four out of five quality metrics (p < 0.001). SNR and CNR were higher for the conventional sequences compared to SMS. CONCLUSION: SMS accelerated T2w TSE sequences offer a faster alternative for knee imaging in pediatric patients without compromise in diagnostic performance despite diminished SNR. The four-fold acceleration of SMS is beneficial to pediatric patients who often have difficulty staying still for long MRI examinations.
