Preliminary study on diagnosis of lumbar disc degeneration with magnetic resonance T1p, T2 mapping and DWI quantitative detection technologies.

OBJECTIVE: The value of diagnosing lumbar disc degeneration with T1p magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), T2 mapping and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) technologies. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We selected 30 patients diagnosed with lumbar disc herniation (group A), 30 patients with lumbar disc degeneration (group B) and 30 healthy volunteers (group C) and carried out Pfirrmann grading of intervertebral discs (L1-S1 segment) based on conventional T2WI median sagittal images. T1p, T2 mapping and DWI were then applied. RESULTS: Group A primarily had Pfirrmann grades of III-IV, group B had Pfirrmann grades of I-IV and group C had Pfirmann grades of I-II. The differences between the groups were statistically significant (p <0.05). The average T1p, T2 mapping and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values of the nucleus pulposus and annulus fibrosus in group A were significantly lower than in group B. The highest values were in group C, and the differences were statistically significant (p <0.05). CONCLUSIONS: T2WI, T1p MRI, T2 Mapping and DWI technologies have different capacities to diagnose lumbar disc degeneration, and have great value in improving diagnostic accuracy.