Thrombus-Mimicking Artifacts in Two-Point Dixon MRI: Prevalence, Appearance, and Severity

Tilman Schubert; Peter Bannas; Sonja Kinner; Samir Sharma; James H. Holmes; Mahdi Salmani Rahimi; Frank R. Korosec; Scott B. Reeder

doi:10.1002/jmri.25357

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Thrombus-Mimicking Artifacts in Two-Point Dixon MRI: Prevalence, Appearance, and Severity

Journal article

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Thrombus-Mimicking Artifacts in Two-Point Dixon MRI: Prevalence, Appearance, and Severity

Tilman Schubert, Peter Bannas, Sonja Kinner, Samir Sharma, James H. Holmes, Mahdi Salmani Rahimi, Frank R. Korosec and Scott B. Reeder

Journal of magnetic resonance imaging, Vol.45(1), pp.229-236

01/01/2017

DOI: 10.1002/jmri.25357

PMCID: PMC5537627

PMID: 27378497

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https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/5537627View

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Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the incidence and severity of potentially thrombus mimicking, flow-induced misallocation artifacts in a clinical setting. Two-point "Dixon" fat-water separation methods, with bipolar readout gradients, may suffer from flow-induced fat-water misallocation artifacts. If these artifacts occur within blood vessels, they may mimic thrombus. Materials and Methods: Two-point Dixon coronal and axial images acquired in 102 consecutive patients were retrospectively evaluated for the presence of flow-induced artifacts in arteries and veins. Artifacts were graded on a 3-point scale (none, mild, severe) by two independent readers. Interreader agreement was evaluated with kappa statistics. Results: Reader 1 reported 63 artifacts in 46 (45%) of the cases (severe in 19 cases, 18.6%).Reader 2 reported 51 artifacts in 43 (42.2%) of the cases (severe in 18 cases, 17.6%). Misallocation of fat and water was apparent in all datasets with severe artifacts, whereas variable signal intensity changes in water and fat images were observed in mild artifacts. Interreader agreement was good for artifacts appearing in coronal images (k = 0.7) and fair for artifact appearance in axial images (k = 0.24). Conclusion: Our study shows a high incidence of flow- induced mild and severe artifacts in a two-point Dixon method with bipolar readout gradients. This artifact should not be misinterpreted as intravascular thrombus.

Life Sciences & Biomedicine

Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging

Science & Technology

Details

Title: Subtitle: Thrombus-Mimicking Artifacts in Two-Point Dixon MRI: Prevalence, Appearance, and Severity
Creators: Tilman Schubert - University of Wisconsin–Madison
Peter Bannas - University of Wisconsin–Madison
Sonja Kinner - University of Wisconsin–Madison
Samir Sharma - University of Wisconsin–Madison
James H. Holmes - University of Wisconsin–Madison
Mahdi Salmani Rahimi - University of Wisconsin–Madison
Frank R. Korosec - University of Wisconsin–Madison
Scott B. Reeder - University of Wisconsin–Madison
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Journal of magnetic resonance imaging, Vol.45(1), pp.229-236
DOI: 10.1002/jmri.25357
PMID: 27378497
PMCID: PMC5537627
NLM abbreviation: J Magn Reson Imaging
ISSN: 1053-1807
eISSN: 1522-2586
Publisher: Wiley
Number of pages: 8
Grant note: National Institutes of Health (NIH); United States Department of Health & Human Services; National Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA Helmut-Hartweg-Fonds from the Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences R01DK088925 / NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DIABETES AND DIGESTIVE AND KIDNEY DISEASES; United States Department of Health & Human Services; National Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA; NIH National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
Language: English
Date published: 01/01/2017
Academic Unit: Roy J. Carver Department of Biomedical Engineering; Radiology
Record Identifier: 9984295027802771

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