Can the addition of “Black Bone” sequence improve the diagnosis of the skull fractures after traumatic brain injury in children?

Motivation: Skull fractures can be clearly displayed by Black Bone MRI. Goal(s): This study aimed to determine whether three-dimensional (3D) "Black Bone" imaging improve diagnostic performance in detecting skull fractures after traumatic brain injury (TBI) in children. Approach: The study included 50 pediatric patients with TBI underwent CT, conventional MRI and Black Bone scans. The diagnosis of skull fracture was evaluated by conventional MRI with and without Black Bone images taking CT as the reference. Results: The results showed that higher diagnostic performance and agreement were achieved with the addition of Black Bone image for bone fracture detection. Impact: Black Bone imaging improve MRI diagnostic performance in detecting pediatric skull fractures following TBI.