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