Evaluation of the biliary and pancreatic system with 2D SSFSE, breathhold 3D FRFSE and respiratory-triggered 3D FRFSE sequences

Purpose The authors compared biliary and pancreatic imaging obtained through 2D single-shot fast spin-echo (SSFSE), breath-hold 3D fast recovery fast spin-echo (FRFSE) and respiratory-triggered 3D FRFSE sequences. Materials and methods A total of 106 magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) examinations performed between December 2007 and September 2008 were evaluated with a comparison of 2D SSFSE (thin section and thick slab), breath-hold 3D FRFSE and respiratory-triggered 3D FRFSE sequences. The biliary tract was divided into seven segments: right hepatic duct, left hepatic duct, common hepatic duct, cystic duct, common bile duct, cystic duct junction and biliarypancreatic confluence. The main pancreatic duct was divided into three segments (head, body and tail). Visualisation of biliary variants was also compared. Two blinded radiologists evaluated segment visibility using a quantitative scale. The Student’s t test for paired samples was used for statistical analysis. Results Compared with 2D SSFSE, respiratory-triggered 3D FRFSE sequences showed better visibility of the right hepatic duct ( p =0.0277), the cystic duct ( p =0.0081), the cystic duct junction ( p =0.0010), the biliary-pancreatic confluence ( p =0.0334) and biliary variants ( p =0.0198). In the comparison between breath-hold 3D FRFSE and 2D SSFSE, a significant statistical difference was found in visualisation of the cystic duct ( p =0.027), the cystic duct junction ( p =0.020), the biliary-pancreatic confluence ( p =0.0338) and biliary variants ( p =0.0311). Conclusions Three-dimensional FRFSE offers a significant benefit over conventional 2D imaging.