RESUMO
BACKGROUND: To obtain magnetic resonance images of the in-vivo human tympanic membrane to avoid radiation exposure. METHODS: Images of the in-vivo human tympanic membrane were obtained by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The differences in resolution of the images obtained by multi slice single echo (MSSE) and 3-dimentional (3D) SNAP sequences were then compared. RESULTS: The resolution of the 2D MR images acquired by MSSE sequences was higher than that obtained by 3D SNAP. The voxel size of the MR images was smaller than that with 3D SNAP because of the narrower slice thickness. Therefore, the spatial resolution of the 3D SNAP sequenced images was better than that of MSSE images. The scanning time for MSSE and 3D SNAP were 12 minutes and 40 seconds and 1 minute and 42 seconds respectively. The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of MR images with 3D SNAP was 0.32 decibels higher than that with MSSE. CONCLUSION: In this study, MR images of the in-vivo human tympanic membrane could be obtained with a 9-cm surface coil with MSSE and 3D SNAP sequences. The spatial resolution of MR images acquired with 3D SNAP was better than that with MSSE. The scanning time with 3D SNAP was shorter than that with MSSE based on similar SNRs. The structure and geometry of the tympanic membrane can be observed clearly, which would be helpful for diagnosis in clinics and can avoid radiation exposure.
