Published in:
01-05-2013 | Original Article
Measurement consistency of MR elastography at 3.0 T: comparison among three different region-of-interest placement methods
Published in: Japanese Journal of Radiology | Issue 5/2013
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Purpose
To test inter- and intraobserver consistency of liver stiffness measurement on MR elastography (MRE) at 3.0 T.
Materials and methods
Two abdominal radiologists independently measured stiffness of the liver on MRE in three volunteers and seven patients with chronic liver diseases using three different region-of-interest (ROI) placement methods. Methods 1 and 2 involved placing circular and free-hand-drawn ROIs, respectively, visually referring to anatomical (three-dimensional T1-weighted) and wave images. Method 3 involved placing ROIs on the fused images of MRE and anatomical images developed on a work station, visually referring to wave images. The inter- and intraobserver consistency was assessed with regression and Bland–Altman analysis.
Results
Thirty-eight images were available for measurement in total. As for interobserver consistency, method 3 showed the best regression coefficient, correlation coefficient, and y intercept. The absolute values of the interobserver differences for method 3 were significantly smaller than those of method 1 or method 2 (p < 0.05, each). Intraobserver consistency of method 3 was excellent for both observers.
Conclusion
Stiffness measurement of the liver on MRE performed with the fusion method at 3.0 T provides the highest inter- and intraobserver consistency.