Christopher David James Sinclair1,2, Robert
D. S. Pitceathly1, Indran Davagnanam2, Michael G. Hanna1,
Mary M. Reilly1, Tarek A. Yousry1,2, Xavier Golay2,
John S. Thornton1,2
1MRC Centre for
Neuromuscular Diseases, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom; 2Department
of Brain Repair & Rehabilitation, UCL Institute of Neurology, London,
United Kingdom
We evaluated 3 point Dixon gradient-echo imaging of the extra-ocular muscles at 3T as a method of fat suppression by comparing it to short tau inversion recovery (STIR) and spectral fat saturation. The 3 sequences were prescribed to have identical geometrical coverage and an imaging time of 3m44s. Seven healthy adult subjects were imaged. The 3-point Dixon method delivered the statistically highest contrast ratio between the muscle and surrounding fat indicating efficient elimination of the fat signal and clear delineation of muscle boundaries. This method offers the additional potential advantage of quantifying intra-muscular fat-fraction in the extra-ocular muscles.
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