Diagnostic Value of Pulmonary MR Ultra-Short Echo Time (UTE) Imaging in Potential Pulmonary Metastasis in Pediatric Hepatoblastoma

Motivation: UTE MR has demonstrated its potential for evaluating pulmonary lesions, which could be employed for assessing pulmonary metastasis from hepatoblastoma. Goal(s): To investigate the diagnostic performance of UTE MR for detecting pulmonary nodules and thus diagnosing pulmonary metastasis in pediatric hepatoblastoma patients. Approach: Lung UTE was assessed for its capability to detect nodules and for its diagnostic performance for pulmonary metastasis. Results: UTE has a moderate diagnostic sensitivity for metastasis, while its specificity is high. When it comes to single pulmonary nodules, UTE has a moderate detection rate with a relatively high false positive detection rate. Impact: UTE has a moderate diagnostic sensitivity for pulmonary metastasis, while its specificity is high. To make MR imaging a reliable one-stop assessment tool, higher resolution UTE imaging technology will be needed in the future.