Table 1.
Pituitary MRI protocol.
| MRI Protocol | Pre-Contrast T1-Weighted Imaging | T2-Weighted Imaging | DWI | DCE Imaging | Post-Contrast T1-Weighted Imaging |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orientation | Coronal | Coronal | Coronal | Coronal | Coronal |
| Sequence | 2D SE | 2D TSE | RESOLVE | 3D VIBE | 3D FLASH |
| TR (ms) | 450 | 4000 | 4000 | 3.9 | 4.68 |
| TE (ms) | 12 | 95 | 49 | 0.97 | 1.74 |
| FA (degree) | 70/180 | 90/130 | 150 | 10 | 11 |
| Bandwidth (Hz/pixel) | 130 | 189 | 694 | 670 | 370 |
| Number of excitations | 1 | 2 | 1 and 3 for low and high b values | 1 | 2 |
| Turbo factor | N/A | 9 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Acceleration factor | 1 | 2 | 2 | N/A | N/A |
| CS factor | N/A | N/A | N/A | 7 | N/A |
| b values (s/mm2) | N/A | N/A | 0 and 1000 | N/A | N/A |
| Directions of motion-probing gradients | N/A | N/A | 3 | N/A | N/A |
| Readout segments | N/A | N/A | 9 | N/A | N/A |
| FOV (mm2) | 180 × 180 | 180 × 180 | 120 × 120 | 159 × 180 | 200 × 200 |
| Matrix | 240 × 320 | 313 × 448 | 84 × 120 | 163 × 192 | 320 × 256 |
| Thickness (mm) | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0.9 | 0.6 |
| Intersection gap (mm) | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0 | N/A | N/A |
| Temporal resolution (s) | N/A | N/A | N/A | 5 | N/A |
| Acquisition time (s) | 148 | 158 | 252 | 203 | 161 |
DWI: diffusion weighted image; DCE: dynamic contrast-enhanced; TR: repetition time; TE: echo time; FA: flip angle; CS: compressed sensing; FOV: field of view; SE: spin-echo; TSE: turbo spin-echo; RESOLVE: readout-segmented echo-planar; VIBE: volumetric interpolated breath-hold examination; FLASH: fast low-angle shot; N/A: not applicable.