T2* relaxometry mapping of the uterine zones

Izumi Imaoka, Imaoka I, Nakatsuka T, Takayuki Nakatsuka, Araki T, Tetsuro Araki, Katsube T, Takashi Katsube, Masahiro Okada, Okada M, Kumano S, Seishi Kumano, Kazunari Ishii, Ishii K, Ashikaga R, Ryuichiro Ashikaga, Tomoyuki Okuaki, Okuaki T, Marc Van Cauteren, Takamichi Murakami, Murakami T
Acta radiologica (Stockholm, Sweden : 1987) · 2012 · vol. 53(4) , pp. 473–477 · doi:10.1258/ar.2012.110342 · PMID:22422270 · W2160673033
article OA: closed CC0 ⤵ 4 in-corpus citations
View on OpenAlex View on PubMed View at publisher
⚙ AI-generated summary by gemini-2.5-flash-lite, 2026-06-08 ⓘ

This study used T2* mapping to show the uterine junctional zone has a significantly lower T2* value than peripheral myometrium, regardless of benign uterine diseases.

One-sentence paraphrase of the abstract; not a substitute for reading it. No clinical advice. How this works

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Previous literature demonstrated that the T2* value of the uterine junctional zone was lower than that of peripheral myometrium by using BOLD MR imaging. We expect T2* mapping image may add more information to T2-weighted images of the uterine myometrium. PURPOSE: To evaluate whether T2* mapping software would reproduce the result of previous report, and to apply the software to benign uterine diseases. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Five healthy volunteers and 19 patients clinically suspected of having benign pelvic disease were imaged using a 1.5T MR system. All women were of reproductive age, and all provided informed consent. Sagittal T2* images using a multishot EPI sequence were obtained. T2* values were calculated and color T2* maps reconstructed using a T2* fitting tool. RESULTS: The uterine zones could be identified in all 24 examinations on the T2* maps. In addition, a thin "4th zone" was seen between the endometrium and the JZ (junctional zone) in 19 of 24 examinations. The T2* value of JZ was significantly lower than that of peripheral myometrium (PM) (P < 0.001). No significant difference in the T2* value of the JZ or of PM was noted between normal uterus and uterus with leiomyomas and/or adenomyosis. CONCLUSION: A quantitative T2* map can easily be obtained using the PRIDE software T2* fitting tool, and the software reproduces the result from previous report. T2* value of the junctional zone was lower than that of peripheral myometrium regardless of having benign myometrial diseases.

My notes (saved in your browser only)

Condition tags

endometriosisadenomyosis

MeSH descriptors

Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted Magnetic Resonance Imaging Uterine Diseases Adult Case-Control Studies Endometriosis Endometriosis Female Humans Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted Leiomyoma Leiomyoma Magnetic Resonance Imaging Middle Aged Software Statistics, Nonparametric Uterine Diseases

Citation neighborhood

Papers in the corpus that this work cites (lower rings, blue) and that cite this one (upper rings, green). Dot size scales with the paper's in-corpus citation count — bigger dot = more influential within the endo/adeno field. Click a dot to open that paper. [ expand to 2 hops ] — adds papers reached through this work's immediate citers/citees. Heavier; up to 60 extra dots.

References (19)

Cited by (4)

Source provenance

europepmc
last seen: 2026-09-09T06:15:24.302764+00:00
openalex
last seen: 2026-06-04T00:00:01.174412+00:00
pubmed
last seen: 2026-05-13T22:16:17.081435+00:00
License: CC0 · commercial use OK