Comparison of accelerated MRI protocol approaches for clinical assessment of the knee.
Most accelerated knee MRI protocols matched conventional scans on image quality
Comparison of accelerated MRI protocol approaches for clinical assessment of the knee.
To evaluate the diagnostic performance and image quality of four accelerated knee MRI protocols (~ 6 minutes) compared with a conventional 2D fast spin echo (fast spin echo) protocol (12-15 minutes).
In this prospective single-center study, 32 adults with knee pain and/or self-reported osteoarthritis underwent 3T MRI using five protocols: conventional 2D fast spin echo, 2D fast spin echo with deep learning (deep learning) reconstruction, 3D Cube, 3D quantitative double-echo steady-state (qDESS), and thin-slice 2D fast spin echo.
Overall, 12/160 protocol scans were excluded due to motion artifacts.
Interreader agreement was similar across protocols but varied by tissues.
Intermethod agreement between accelerated protocols and the conventional protocol approached the repeatability of the conventional protocol.
NPA remained consistently high across tissues and protocols.
Accelerated 2D deep learning, 3D Cube, and 3D qDESS protocols demonstrated diagnostic agreement and diagnostic image quality comparable to the conventional knee MRI protocol while reducing scan time to ~ 6 min.
These approaches may serve as practical alternatives to conventional protocols, with potential benefits for clinical workflow and patient experience.