MR-IMAGING OF THE UTERUS - FINDINGS FROM HIGH-RESOLUTION MULTISECTION DYNAMIC IMAGING WITH A SURFACE COIL

MR imaging of the female pelvis with a local coil (multiple phased array coils) has been reported [1]. With this method, the signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) is improved so that high-resolution images can be obtained. Dynamic contrast-enhanced MR imaging has been reported to be useful in diagnosing uterine neoplasms. However, dynamic MR imaging is done in only limited imaging planes [2, 3]. When multisection dynamic MR imaging with fast gradient-echo sequences [4] is combined with the use of a local coil, high resolution images can be obtained throughout the entire uterus during a single breath hold. This pictorial essay illustrates the appearance of the normal uterus and malignant uterine neoplasms on high-resolution multisection dynamic MR images obtained with a Helmholtz-type surface coil [5].