Comparison of inversion recovery gradient echo with inversion recovery fast spin echo techniques for magnetic resonance imaging detection of navicular bone marrow lesions in horses.

The research focuses on comparing two magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques: short tau inversion recovery (STIR) and inversion recovery gradient echo (IRGE), and their effectiveness in detecting bone marrow lesions in horses’ navicular bones.

Objective and Methods

• The research aimed to compare the detectability of navicular bone marrow lesions (BMLs) in horses’ feet using two different MRI techniques: STIR and IRGE.
• A total of 150 horse feet with lameness issues were studied using a standing low-field equine MRI system.
• The study was aimed at establishing whether a BML was present through the identification of a combination of marrow changes in various weighted images, including T1-weighted, T2*-weighted, T2-weighted, and STIR images.
• The researchers also calculated the signal-to-noise and contrast-to-noise ratios on both the STIR and IRGE sequences in the 56 feet where a navicular BML was detected.

Results

• The results showed a strong linear correlation (r = 0.87 and r = 0.92) between the signal-to-noise and contrast-to-noise ratios of both STIR and IRGE sequences.
• However, the ratios were significantly higher for the STIR images (mean ± SD, 22.6 ± 12.7 and 12.4 ± 11.4), when compared with the IRGE images (13.7 ± 8.0 and 5.9 ± 7.2).

Conclusion

• The analyzed data suggest that the IRGE sequence was significantly less visible, compared with the standard STIR sequence when it comes to BMLs detection.
• The findings indicate that the two methods cannot be interchangeably used, and hence it is not recommended to solely rely on the IRGE as the only fat-suppressed sequence for routine equine standing MRI protocols.