BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:The golden-angle radial sparse parallel-volumetric interpolated breath-hold (GRASP-VIBE) sequence is a recently introduced imaging technique with high resolution. This study compared the image quality between conventional fatsuppressed T1-weighted TSE and GRASP-VIBE after gadolinium enhancement in the head and neck region.MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data from 65 patients with clinical indications for head and neck MR imaging between September 2020 and January 2021 were retrospectively reviewed. Two radiologists assessed the overall image quality, overall artifacts, and image conspicuities in the oropharynx, hypopharynx, and cervical lymph nodes according to 5-point scores (best score: 5). Interobserver agreement was assessed using weighted k statistics. The SNR and contrast-to-noise ratio were calculated and compared between the 2 sequences using a paired Wilcoxon signed rank test.

Purpose To determine whether dual-energy CT (DECT) has incremental diagnostic value when combined with ultrasound (US) in the diagnosis of metastatic cervical lymph nodes (LNs) in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). Methods This was a single-center retrospective cohort study of patients diagnosed with PTC between October 2019 and August 2020. US features of LNs to include hyperechogenicity, round shape, microcalcification, cystic component, and homogeneous/peripheral vascularity were considered suggestive of metastasis. The HU of arterial phase (HUarterial) and DECT-derived CT images [contrast media (CM) and areas under the 100 keV monoenergetic curve (AUC100keV)] were measured. Effective atomic numbers (Zeff), iodine concentration (mg/mL), and slope of the HU curve (λHU) were also obtained. The values for metastatic and benign LNs were compared using Student’s t-test with false-discovery correction. Logistic regression with areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUCs) were performed for predicting metastatic LNs. Results A total of 102 patients were included (49 metastatic and 53 benign LNs; mean age, 46±15 years). Metastatic LNs showed significantly higher values for HUarterial, CM, Zeff, λHU, AUC100keV, and iodine concentration (all, P = 0.001). In logistic regression, the HUarterial demonstrated the highest AUC (0.824; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.751–0.897), followed by CM HU (0.762; 95% CI, 0.679–0.846). Combination of DECT parameters with US features improved the AUC from 0.890 to 0.941. Conclusion Compared to US features alone, combination with DECT-derived quantitative parameters improved diagnostic performance in predicting metastatic cervical LNs in patients with PTC.

Objectives: Acquiring high-quality magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the head and neck region is often challenging due to motion and susceptibility artifacts. This study aimed to compare image quality of 2 high-resolution three-dimensional (3D) MRI sequences of the neck, controlled aliasing in parallel imaging results in higher acceleration (CAIPIRINHA)-volumetric interpolated breath-hold examination (VIBE), and golden-angle radial sparse parallel imaging (GRASP)-VIBE. Materials and Methods: One hundred seventy-three patients indicated for contrast-enhanced neck MRI examination were scanned using 3 T scanners and both CAIPIRINHA-VIBE and GRASP-VIBE with nearly isotropic 3D acquisitions (<1 mm in-plane resolution with analogous acquisition times). Patients' MRI scans were independently rated by 2 radiologists using a 5-grade Likert scale for overall image quality, artifact level, mucosal and lesion conspicuity, and fat suppression degree at separate anatomical regions. Interobserver agreement was calculated using the Cohen κ coefficient. The quality ratings of both sequences were compared using the Mann-Whitney U test. Nonuniformity and contrast-to-noise ratio values were measured in all subjects. Separate MRI scans were performed twice for each sequence in a phantom and healthy volunteer without contrast injection to calculate the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Results: The scores of overall image quality, overall artifact level, motion artifact level, and conspicuity of the nasopharynx, oropharynx, oral cavity, hypopharynx, and larynx were all significantly higher in GRASP-VIBE than in CAIPIRINHA-VIBE (all P's < 0.001). Moderate to substantial interobserver agreement was observed in overall image quality (GRASP-VIBE κ = 0.43; CAIPIRINHA-VIBE κ = 0.59) and motion artifact level (GRASP-VIBE κ = 0.51; CAIPIRINHA-VIBE κ = 0.65). Lesion conspicuity was significantly higher in GRASP-VIBE than in CAIPIRINHA-VIBE ( P = 0.005). The degree of fat suppression was weaker in the lower neck regions in GRASP-VIBE (3.90 ± 0.72) than in CAIPIRINHA-VIBE (4.97 ± 0.21) ( P < 0.001). The contrast-to-noise ratio at hypopharyngeal level was significantly higher in than in CAIPIRINHA-VIBE (3.14 ± 9.95) ( P < 0.001). In the phantom study, the SNR of GRASP-VIBE was 12 times greater than that of CAIPIRINHA-VIBE. The in vivo SNR of the volunteer MRI scan was 13.6 in CAIPIRINHA-VIBE and 20.7 in GRASP-VIBE.Conclusions: Both sequences rendered excellent images for head and neck MRI scans. GRASP-VIBE provided better image quality, as well as mucosal and lesion conspicuities, with less motion artifacts, whereas CAIPIRINHA-VIBE provided better fat suppression in the lower neck regions.