Non-contrast 3D MR Lymphangiography using dual inversion recovery tissue-specific image contrast optimization (DIRECTION)

Motivation: Conventional non-contrast MR-Lymphangiography (MRL) often uses heavily-T2, which strongly suppresses background signal. A sequence that can diagnose lymphatic-vessels involving anatomical information of surrounding-tissues is required. Goal(s): Our goal is to demonstrate its clinical feasibility by investigating image quality of lymphatic-vessels in non-contrast MRL derived from TSE sequence with dual-IR. Approach: We propose 3D-TSE with dual-inversion-recovery-tissue-specific-image-contrast-optimization (DIRECTION) for non-contrast MRL. Dual-TI were set to simultaneously suppress fat, blood and nerve, additionally resulting in high lymphatic-vessel signal. DIRECTION was compared with conventional-TSE for image quality. Results: DIRECTION demonstrated potential to provide anatomical information of lymphatic-vessels involving background-tissue, compared to conventional-TSE. Impact: DIRECTION provide anatomical information on lymphatic vessels involving background tissue, which may be clinically useful in diagnosing lymphatic congestion and lymphatic leak, and in diagnosing lymphatic vessels pre interventional radiology and surgical procedures.