Diagnostic performance of zero echo time imaging and T1-weighted fast spin echo on sacroiliac joint bone erosions using CT as the gold standard

Detection of sacroiliac joint (SIJ) bone erosions may improve diagnostic performance of axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) as CT is the gold standard. Zero echo time (ZTE) MRI technique can acqire CT-like bone contrast and has been applied to bone imaging of many other body parts. Our research explored the ability of ZTE to detect SIJ bone erosions and conduct comparison of ZTE and conventional T1-weighted fast spin echo (T1 FSE). We found that ZTE had superior detection performance to T1 FSE and might be an effective supplement to routine MRI protocol in SIJs.