Objectives: To evaluate the diagnostic value and characteristic features of FCD epileptogenic zones using a novel sequence called fluid and white matter suppression (FLAWS).

Materials and methods: Thirty-nine patients with pathologically confirmed FCD and good surgery outcomes (class I or II, according to the Engel Epilepsy Surgery Outcome Scale) were retrospectively included in the study. All the patients underwent a preoperative whole-brain MRI examination that included conventional sequences (T2WI, T1WI, two-dimensional (2D) axial, coronal fluid-attenuated inversion recovery [FLAIR]) and FLAWS. An additional 3D-FLAIR MRI sequence was performed in 17 patients. To evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of FLAWS and investigate the cause of false-positives, 36 healthy volunteers were recruited as normal controls. Two radiologists evaluated all the image data. The detection rates of the FCD epileptogenic zone on different sequences were compared based on five criteria: abnormal cortical morphology (thickening, thinning, or abnormally deep sulcus); abnormal cortical signal intensity; blurred gray-white matter junction; abnormal signal intensity of the subcortical white matter, and the transmantle sign. The sensitivity and specificity of FLAWS for detecting the FCD lesions were calculated with the reviewers blinded to all the clinical information, i.e. to the patient identity and the location of the resected regions. To explore how many features were sufficient for the diagnosis of the epileptogenic zones, the frequency of each criterion in the resected regions and their combinations were assessed on FLAWS, according to the results of the assessment when the reviewers were aware of the location of the resected regions. Based on the findings of the 17 patients with an additional 3D-FLAIR scan when the reviewers were aware of the location of the resected regions, quantitative analysis of the regions of interest was used to compare the tissue contrast among 2D-axial FLAIR, 3D-FLAIR, and the FLAWS sequence. Visualization score analysis was used to evaluate the visualization of the five features on conventional, 3D-FLAIR, and FLAWS images. Finally, to explore the reason for false-positive results, a further evaluation of the whole brain FLAWS images was conducted for all the subjects.

Results: The sensitivity and specificity for detecting the FCD lesions on the FLAWS sequence were 71.9% and 71.1%, respectively. When the reviewers were blinded to the location of the resected regions, the detection rate of the FLAWS sequence was significantly higher than that of the conventional sequences (P = 0.00). In the 17 patients who underwent an additional 3D FLAIR scan, no statistically significant difference was found between the FLAWS and the 3D-FLAIR (P = 0.25). All the patients had at least two imaging features, one of which was "the blurred junction of the gray-white matter." The transmantle sign, which is widely believed to be a specific feature of FCD type II, could also be observed in type I on the FLAWS sequence. The relative tissue contrast of FLAWS was higher than that of the 2D-FLAIR with respect to lesion/white matter (WM), deep gray matter (GM)/WM, and cortex/WM (P = 0.00 for all three measures) and higher than that of the 3D-FLAIR with respect to the lesion/WM (P = 0.01). The visualization score analysis showed that the visualization of FLAWS was more enhanced than that of the conventional and 3D-FLAIR images with respect to the blurred junction (P = 0.00 for both comparisons) and the abnormal signal intensity of the subcortical white matter (P = 0.01 for both comparisons). The thin-threadlike signal and individual FCD features outside the epileptogenic regions were considered the primary cause of the false-positive results of FLAWS.

Conclusions: FLAWS can help in the detection of FCD epileptogenic zones. It is recommended that epileptogenic zone on FLAWS be diagnosed based on a combination of two features, one of which should be the "blurred junction of the gray-white matter" in types I and II. In type III, the combination of "the blurred junction of the gray-white matter" with "abnormal signal intensity of subcortical white matter" is recommended.