By using dynamic TWIST sequences, breast MR images can be obtained in approximately 102 seconds, compared with a standard full diagnostic protocol that typically takes about 15 to 20 minutes. The question is: How accurate is TWIST?
"Our study shows that women can be screened with an ultrafast 3-tesla MRI sequence in less than two minutes acquisition time that is as accurate as standard breast 3-tesla MRI protocols," Dr. Jan van Zelst, a radiology resident at Radboud University Medical Center in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, told AuntMinnie.com. "We also found that the rate of false positives decreases significantly when reading the ultrafast sequence compared to the lengthy standard MRI protocol, thus increasing the specificity of breast MRI."
For the study, the researchers also developed a dedicated breast MRI workstation with which a radiologist can analyze wash-in kinetic parameters such as time to enhance, the maximum slope, and the relative enhancement of lesions compared with the background.
Four dedicated breast radiologists read all 200 exams twice in two separate randomized reading sessions four weeks apart. When comparing TWIST ultrafast dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI against standard full diagnostic protocols, the ultrafast technique performed as well as the standard and even better in certain assessments, including specificity.
The researchers believe more women, including those who are not BRCA mutation carriers, may benefit from this breast MRI screening technique, given its higher specificity than standard protocols.
