Differentiation of Osteophytes and Disc Herniations Using FRACTURE MRI sequence in Patients with Cervical Radiculopathy

Motivation: It is difficult to differentiate the cause of cervical radiculopathy, i.e. osteophytes and disc herniations, using conventional cervical spine MRI. Goal(s): To evaluate the diagnostic performance of fast field echo resembling a CT using restricted echo-spacing (FRACTURE) MRI sequence for the differentiation of osteophytes and disc herniations. Approach: The diagnostic performance of FRACTURE was evaluated using conventional cervical spine MRI combined with CT as a standard reference. Results: FRACTURE enables the reliable differentiation of osteophytes and disc herniations in patients with cervical radiculopathy with a higher sensitivity and specificity compared with conventional T1/T2 MR sequences. Impact: FRACTURE is a reliable technique for differentiating osteophytes and disc herniations. This could be relevant for younger patients in order to prevent unnecessary radiation exposure and may also facilitate a one-stop-shop approach and speed up diagnostic work-up.