MRI Magic: 3D vs. 2D for Detecting Peroneal Tendon Injuries

Do you know why it's important to get a clear picture of your tendons? Well, let's find out! This study looked at how well MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) can spot peroneal tendon issues. These are tendons in your ankle that help you move your foot side to side. The thing is, regular 2D MRIs might not show the whole story. So, researchers checked out both 2D and 3D MRIs. They picked 32 ankle scans from 31 patients who had surgery on their peroneal tendons. The patients were between 17 and 74 years old, and the scans were done between 2009 and 2024. Three experts looked at these scans without knowing what the surgery found. They checked for common problems like tendon swelling, damage, and tears. The experts found that 2D MRIs did a pretty good job, with an accuracy rate of 80%. But when they added 3D MRIs, the accuracy jumped to 85%! The sensitivity (finding true positives) and specificity (finding true negatives) also improved. Now, here's where it gets interesting. The experts didn't always agree on what they saw in the scans. For 2D MRIs, they agreed about 45-75% of the time for the peroneus brevis tendon and 45-90% of the time for the peroneus longus tendon. When they added 3D MRIs, the agreement dropped a bit, but it was still decent at 31-54% and 64-81% respectively. So, what's the takeaway? Adding 3D MRIs to the mix can help doctors see tendon issues more clearly. But remember, even experts can disagree on what they see.