Prospective pilot study evaluates a 1.5-T MRI protocol for imaging lung abnormalities in neonates, indicating potential for safe assessments without radiation.
Key Points
The study aims to develop and evaluate a chest MRI protocol for imaging lung abnormalities related to BPD in neonates.
Conducted chest MRI and CT on infants using a 1.5-T MRI scanner with a neonatal chest coil.
Included free-breathing T2-weighted and proton density-weighted sequences.
Assessed image quality and quantified lung tissue characteristics.
Correlated MRI and CT scores using statistical methods.
T2-weighted PROPELLER sequence showed superior image quality over ZTE.
MRI and CT scores for normal and hyperintense lung tissue were significantly correlated.
No significant correlation was found for hypointense regions and bronchopathy.
The protocol is deemed feasible and safe for assessing severe BPD-related lung abnormalities.