Comparison between 2D and 3D MEDIC for human cervical spinal cord MRI at 3T

Introduction High‐resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the cervical spinal cord is important to provide accurate diagnosis and pathological assessment of injuries. MEDIC (Multiple Echo Data Image Combination) sequences have been used in clinical MRI; however, a comparison of the performance of 2D and 3D MEDIC for cervical spinal cord imaging has not been reported. The aim of this study is to compare axial 2D and 3D MEDIC for the visualisation of the grey matter (GM) and white matter (WM) of the human cervical spinal cord. Methods Eight healthy participants were scanned using Siemens Prismafit 3T MRI. T2*‐weighted gradient spoiled 2D and 3D MEDIC sequences were acquired at 0.4 × 0.4 × 3.0 and 0.3 × 0.3 × 3.0 mm resolutions, with the acquisition times of 6 and 7 min, respectively. Quantitative analyses of the images were made based on the image signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR), contrast‐to‐noise ratio (CNR) and non‐uniformity (NU). Two independent radiologists (CS and FN), each provided Likert scoring assessments of anatomical visibility of the GM and WM structures and image clarity for all samples. Results Quantitative evaluation showed that 3D MEDIC provided higher SNR, higher CNR and lower NU than 2D MEDIC. However, 2D MEDIC provided better anatomical visibility for the GM, WM and CSF, and higher image clarity (lower artefacts) compared to 3D MEDIC. Conclusions 2D MEDIC provides better information for depicting the internal structures of the cervical spinal cord compared to 3D MEDIC.

2D MEDIC provided better quality images for depicting the cervical spinal cord's white and grey matter structures with reduced artefacts and superior clarity compared to the 3D MEDIC. This paper showed that the 2D MEDIC can potentially be used to obtain reliable measurements of atrophy and lesions in the internal spinal cord structures, which is important for diagnosis in diseases such as multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injury.