Body Imaging

MR imaging in the abdomen, pelvis and periphery at high field presents many challenges, such as imaging large areas rapidly at high resolution, suppressing motion artifacts due to breathing and peristalsis, curtailing artifacts due to tissue heterogeneity, and minimizing power deposition. One of our primary goals is to overcome these hurdles and enhance body MR image quality, reliability and robustness at 3 T. Another main objective is to design and implement acquisitions and post-processing algorithms that characterize both tissue morphology and function via MR surrogate markers such as T1 and T2 mapping, perfusion, diffusion, flow effects, and fat/iron quantification, to name a few. Within our facility, body MR projects are geared towards solving clinically focused issues and problems, and providing radiologists with valuable clinical information to help with diagnosis and/or monitoring of treatment.

Multi-phasic, contrast-enhanced abdominal body-MRI acquisition that is used to detect lesions, cysts, and metastases

 

Investigators:

Richard Frayne, PhD
Houman Mahallati, MD

Key Publications:

Lauzon ML, Mahallati H, Frayne R. Time-efficient breath-hold abdominal MRI at 3.0 T. AJR Am J Roentgenol 2006; 187: 649-57.

Stafford RB, Sabati M, Haakstad MJ, Mahallati H, Frayne R. Unenhanced MR angiography of the renal arteries with balanced steady-state free precession Dixon method. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2008; 191: 243-6.

Pereira RS, Gonul II, McLaughlin K, Yilmaz S, Mahallati H. Assessment of chronic renal allograft nephropathy using contrast-enhanced MRI: A pilot study. AJR Am J Roentgenol 2010; 194: W407-13.