The Emerging Role of 7 Tesla MRI in Musculoskeletal Imaging

AbstractPurpose of ReviewTo describe the emergent role of ultra-high field (UHF) MR with respect to musculoskeletal MRI applications.Recent FindingsWith the recent US Federal Drug Administration (FDA) and European Union (EU) approval of ultra-high field (UHF) MRI below 8T for clinical use, and the availability of clinical 7T MRI systems, there is a rising interest in the potential clinical and research applications in musculoskeletal MRI.SummaryWith increases in field strength and SNR gains resulting in sharper and higher spatial resolution MRI images, there is increasing interest in UHF MRI. Although there are challenges and limitations in UHF, there are many new and unique musculoskeletal MR applications that UHF excels at such as morphological imaging, bone micro-architecture evaluation, biochemical imaging techniques such gagCEST, UTE/ZTE, T2 mapping, T2* mapping, T1 ρ mapping, and multi-nuclear imaging and spectroscopy/imaging techniques with23Na and31P. The goal of this review is to highlight some of these recent findings in musculoskeletal MRI applications at UHF.

Source: Current Radiology Reports - June 2, 2018 Category: Radiology Source Type: research