Clinical study on the application of intelligent and rapid magnetic resonance technology in improving the quality of knee joint scan images

Objective: To explore the application value of Intelligent Quick Magnetic Resonance (IQMR) in improving the image quality of knee joint scans. Methods: A total of 100 patients suspected of having knee joint lesions underwent conventional and accelerated knee joint magnetic resonance examinations on a GE Discovery 750 3.0T MRI scanner. The sagittal PDWI-FS sequence of the knee joint was selected, and the fast PDWI-FS sequence (Fast-MR, NEX=1) and the original PDWI-FS sequence (Original-MR, NEX=2) were scanned respectively. The two groups of sequences were automatically transferred to the IQMR post-processing system to reconstruct Fast-IQMR and Original-IQMR images. Three radiologists independently gave subjective scores on a five-point scale for the lesion details, anatomical structure clarity, overall image artifacts, and overall image quality of the four groups of images in the PD-FS sequence. The signal values of the tibial plateau, anterior cruciate ligament, posterior cruciate ligament, cartilage, and fat, as well as the background noise intensity were measured. With the muscle as the background, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) of each tissue were calculated, and the above indicators of the four groups of images were compared and analyzed. Results: The Fast-IQMR sequence reduced the average examination time by 49% compared with the Original-IQMR sequence. By Kendall's W test, in the four groups of images, the three subjective scores given by the three physicians showed significant consistency ( p <0.05). There were statistical differences in the three subjective scores among the four groups of images ( p <0.001). The SNR and CNR of the Fast-IQMR and Original-IQMR images in the tibial plateau, anterior cruciate ligament, posterior cruciate ligament, and cartilage were significantly higher than those of the Fast - MR and Original - MR images respectively (p < 0.001), and the SNR and CNR of the Fast - IQMR images were significantly higher than those of the Original - MR group images (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The images reconstructed by IQMR have certain improvements in both scanning speed and image quality compared with conventional images. The IQMR technology has significant advantages in improving the image quality of knee joint magnetic resonance scans, which can significantly improve the detail expression and clarity of the images, increase the SNR and CNR of the images, and more accurately show the scope of the lesions. Compared with the Original - MR images, the improvement effect of the image quality of the Fast - IQMR images is significant. That is, the Fast - IQMR sequence with NEX = 1 can not only ensure the image quality but also improve the scanning efficiency.