Comparison of MR DW-FLAIR and FLAIR techniques in cerebral infarction

Objective To explore the role of MR DW-FLAIR and FLAIR techniques in the diagnosis of cerebral infarction. Methods All sixty patients with cerebral infarction were examined by SE-T1, FSE-T2, FLAIR and DW-FLAIR scanning. Eighty-two cerebral infraction lesions were found in all 60 patients. The values in diagnosing cerebral infarction lesions between FLAIR and DW-FLAIR were compared. Results In detected cerebral infraction lesions: 34 lesions were unclear in the FLAIR and 16 in the DW-FLAIR (χ2=5.986, P=0.014). The CNR of all the 60 patients in the DW-FLAIR was much higher than that of FLAIR. (t=-3.26, P=0.008). Conclusion The imaging time of DW-FLAIR was shorter than that of FLAIR. When the lesion locates at the peak of the skull DW-FLAIR is better than FLAIR but not as good as FLAIR when the lesion locates at the base of the skull.