Acute Myocardial Infarction : Comparison of T2‐Weighted and T1‐Weighted Gadolinium‐DTPA Enhanced MR Imaging

Magnetic resonance images were obtained from 32 patients with acute myocardial infarction, using a four-echo technique (echo time (TE) = 30, 60, 90, and 120 ms) pre-gadolinium(Gd)-DTPA injection and a TE = 30 ms sequence pre- and post-Gd-DTPA. Intensity ratios of infarcted and normal myocardium were calculated, as were contrast-to-noise and signal-to-noise ratios. The four intensity ratios pre-Gd-DTPA were 1.20 ±0.15, 1.42 ± 0.22, 1.78 ± 0.38, and 1.99 ± 0.60 for TE = 30, 60, 90, and 120 ms, respectively, and 1.42 ± 0.19 post-Gd-DTPA (p = NS for post-Gd-DTPA vs TE = 60, p = 0.007 for TE = 90 vs TE = 120, p < 0.0001 for all other comparisons). The four contrast-to-noise ratios pre-Gd-DTPA were 1.69 ± 0.97, 2.69 ± 1.13, 3.17 ± 1.15, and 2.90 ± 1.09 for TE = 30, 60, 90, and 120 ms, respectively, and 2.71 ± 1.26 post-Gd-DTPA (p = NS for post-Gd-DTPA vs TE = 60, 90, and 120, p = NS for TE = 120 vs TE = 60 and 90, p< 0.01 for all other comparisons). The four signal-to-noise ratios pre-Gd-DTPA were 8.67 ± 1.47, 6.52 ± 0.76, 5.20 ± 0.64, 4.17 ± 0.53 for TE = 30, 60, 90, and 120 ms, respectively, and 9.17 ± 1.92 post-Gd-DTPA (p = 0.03 for post-Gd-DTPA vs TE = 30, p < 0.0001 for all other comparisons). In conclusion, the detectabilities of acute myocardial infarction were similar at TE = 60 ms and at Gd-DTPA enhanced short-TE MR imaging. However, image quality proved to be superior using the Gd-DTPA enhanced short-TE technique. © 1991 Academic Press, Inc.