Figure 6a.

Diffuse axonal injury in two patients imaged with multishot GRE echo-planar sequence (GRE-EPI; Philips) (3500/30; flip angle, 90°; bandwidth, 35.8 Hz/pixel; echo-planar imaging factor, 15; voxel size, 0.9 × 1.1 × 5.0 mm; FOV, 220 × 192 mm). (a) Axial multishot GRE echo-planar MR image shows multiple foci of low signal intensity (arrows) consistent with petechial hemorrhages in subcortical and periventricular white matter in both frontal and right occipital lobes. (b) Axial multishot GRE echo-planar MR image in another patient with head injury shows petechial hemorrhage (arrow) in the left parietal subcortical white matter and intraventricular hemorrhages (arrowheads) in the left occipital horn and third ventricle. T2*-weighted sequences form an essential part of the MR imaging done for diffuse axonal injury because this sequence can show small petechial hemorrhages, a characteristic finding of diffuse axonal injury, better than spin-echo or fast spin-echo sequences can.