High Field Brain MRI Use in Clinical Practice
- Second Edition
- “L. Bonomo” Hospital Andria (BT) Italy Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2017
- 385 Pages
Includes References and Index
The second revised and implemented edition of this text aims to provide an update on the progress achieved in the high-field MRI systems in terms of hardware, software, its use in clinical routine and in the research field. During the last years, there has been an increase in the installation trend of MRI 3 Tesla scanner all over the world, thanks to new laws and concessions introduced by the legislative systems of different European countries and thanks to the growing interest in the experts deriving from the different utlities and diagnostic possibilities. Through the research carried out in this area by various manufacturing companies, the 3 Tesla scanners have become more compact, powerful, and versatile. These improvements have also been accompanied by a reduction of the differences in terms of the purely economic costs compared with more widely diffused 1.5 Tesla devices. In this text, the many benefits offered by a 3 Tesla scanner compared to 1.5 Tesla are highlighted: higher signal, higher resolution, higher sensitivity, shorter imaging times, additional more advanced study procedures and enhanced diagnostic capacity, greater accuracy in morphofunctional study of the brain. With advances in terms of software and hardware, some of the shortcomings of the 3.0 T systems, previously put in evidence, (inhomogeneity of the field, artifacts caused by susceptibility and chemical shift, elevated SAR, high costs), are currently less relevant. The 3.0 T MR systems currently offer morphological investigation with high spatial, temporal and contrast resolution (essential for diagnosis). They also provide physiological, metabolic and functional information, enhancing the diagnostic power of routine MR imaging in terms of sensitivity and specificity both in clinical practice and in applied research purposes. This volume includes papers on the techniques and semeiotics of morphofunctional cerebral imaging at 3.0 Tesla (including reference to the advantages and drawbacks respect to lower field strength MR systems) and the main clinical applications in neuroradiology