Researchers at the Gamma Knife Center at Methodist Hospital in San Antonio, in collaboration with the University Medical Center Mannheim and Scott & White Healthcare, led by Dr. Ulrike Attenberger, compared SPACE to 3D T1-weighted gradient echo-based scans (MP-RAGE) in a study of 28 patients with brain metastases.
The scans discovered 285 brain metastases, with one of two readers finding 55.4% of the lesions while the second reader detected 52.6%. Using the SPACE sequence, both readers' ability to find more metastases increased significantly (82.5% for reader 1 and 88.8% for reader 2).
Researchers also found a "markedly improved correlation" for SPACE (reader 1, r = 0.904, and reader 2, r = 0.916), compared to MP-RAGE (reader 1, r = 0.614, and reader 2, r = 0.558) scans. Lesions missed by MP-RAGE were all 5 mm or less in diameter, according to the study.
Researchers wrote that 3D T1-weighted SPACE has "markedly improved sensitivity for brain metastases, due to its spin-echo base and other characteristics facilitating lesion recognition, and is recommended for 3-tesla [MRI]."
.fFmgij6Hin.png?crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=100&w=100&auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70)
.fFmgij6Hin.png?crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=167&w=250&auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70)
