Magnetic Resonance Imaging Susceptibility-weighted Imaging is More Reliable to Detect Hemorrhage and Calcification than Magnetic Resonance Imaging T2*-weighted Gradient Echo in Brain Imaging

Introduction: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain is the best modality to visualize brain parenchyma and brain pathology. Apart from routine sequence, T2* gradient echo (GRE) sequence was being used to detect calcification and bleed. We have studied that the sensitivity and reliability of MR susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) sequence are far better than T2* GRE sequence for detecting cerebral microbleed (CMB) and calcification. Materials and Methods: The study was a retrospective study conducted with 50 patients with symptoms and signs of brain pathology. The patients underwent MRI and computerized tomography (CT). The MRI was performed in 1.5 Tesla scanner, and CT was performed in 128 multislice CT scanner using recommended sequences. The obtained images were being subjected to radiological analysis and interpretation. Results: Out of 50 cases, SWI exclusively identified CMB in 16 cases in which even CT failed to identify the lesion. SWI sequence in MRI is a better sequence to detect bleed and calcification in brain parenchyma. Conclusion: Both the modality was being carried out in all patients including normal patients with prescribed sequences. On comparison with T2* GRE sequence, SWI is excellent in spatial resolution for evaluating CMB and calcification.