Optimizing 3D FLAIR to detect MS lesions: pushing past factory settings for precise results.

Background: To assess the diagnostic value of three 3D FLAIR sequences with differing repetition-times (TR) at 3-Tesla when detecting multiple sclerosis (MS) lesions.

Methods: In this prospective study, approved by the institutional review board, 27 patients with confirmed MS were prospectively included. One radiologist performed manual segmentations of all high-signal intensity lesions using three 3D FLAIR data sets with different TR of 4800 ms ("FLAIR"), 8000 ms ("FLAIR") and 10,000 ms ("FLAIR") and two radiologists double-checked it.