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In this retrospective study, synthetic T2-weighted, FLAIR, double inversion recovery, and phase-sensitive inversion recovery images were produced in 12 patients with MS after quantification of T1 and T2 values and proton density. Double inversion recovery images were optimized for each patient by adjusting the TI. The number of visible plaques was determined by a radiologist for a set of these 4 types of synthetic MR images and a set of conventional T1-weighted inversion recovery, T2-weighted, and FLAIR images. Conventional 3D double inversion recovery and other available images were used as the criterion standard. Synthetic MR imaging enabled detection of more MS plaques than conventional MR imaging in a comparable acquisition time (approximately 7 minutes). The contrast for MS plaques on synthetic double inversion recovery images was better than on conventional double inversion recovery images.