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Abdominal Applications of 3.0-T MR Imaging: Comparative Review versus a 1.5-T System

¹ From the Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Research Institute of Radiological Science (J.Y.C., M.J.K., Y.E.C., J.Y.K.), and the Institute of Gastroenterology (M.J.K.), Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seodaemun-ku Shinchon-dong 134, Seoul 120-752, Korea; Philips Medical Systems, Best, the Netherlands (A.C.J., J.d.B.); and Philips Medical Systems Asia Pacific, Tokyo, Japan (M.v.C.). Presented as an education exhibit at the 2006 RSNA Annual Meeting. Received December 18, 2007; revision requested March 20, 2008; revision received and accepted April 7. All authors have no financial relationships to disclose. Address correspondence to M.J.K. (email: kimnex{at}yuhs.ac).

With the development of dedicated receiver coils and increased gradient performance, 3.0-T magnetic resonance (MR) systems are gaining wider acceptance in clinical practice. The expected twofold increase in signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) compared with that of 1.5-T MR systems may help improve spatial resolution or increase temporal resolution when used with parallel acquisition techniques. Several issues must be considered when applying 3.0-T MR in the abdomen, including the alteration of the radiofrequency field and relaxation time, increase in energy deposition and susceptibility effects, and problems associated with motion artifacts. For the evaluation of liver lesions, higher SNR and greater resolution achieved with the 3.0-T system could translate into better detection of malignant lesions on T2-weighted images obtained with adjusted imaging parameters. For the evaluation of pancreatic and biliary diseases, high-resolution T2-weighted imaging using single-shot turbo spin-echo sequences is useful; improvement in SNR was noticeable on two-dimensional MR cholangiopancreatographic images. For the preoperative imaging of rectal cancer, a single-shot sequence is useful for dramatically decreasing imaging time while maintaining image quality. Substantial modification of examination protocols, with optimized imaging parameters and sequence designs along with ongoing development of hardware, could contribute to an increased role of the 3.0-T system for abdominal MR examinations.