7T for clinical imaging of benign peripheral nerve tumors: preliminary results

• Published in: Acta neurochirurgica Vol. 165; no. 11; pp. 3549 - 3558
• Main Authors: Amrami, Kimberly K., Chebrolu, Venkata V., Felmlee, Joel P., Frick, Matthew A., Powell, Garret M., Marek, Tomas, Howe, Benjamin M., Fagan, Andrew J., Kollasch, Peter D., Spinner, Robert J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Vienna Springer Vienna 01.11.2023; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Atrophy; Benign; Bone surgery; Denervation; Diagnosis; Early experience; Interventional Radiology; Magnetic resonance imaging; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Minimally Invasive Surgery; Neurology; Neuroradiology; Neurosurgery; Patients; Peripheral Nerves; Scanners; Surgical Orthopedics; Technical Note; Tumors; 7T; Nerve imaging; Benign; Nerve tumor
• ISSN: 0942-0940; 0001-6268; 0942-0940
• DOI: 10.1007/s00701-023-05724-1

Purpose MRI has become an essential diagnostic imaging modality for peripheral nerve pathology. Early MR imaging for peripheral nerve depended on inferred nerve involvement by visualizing downstream effects such as denervation muscular atrophy; improvements in MRI technology have made possible direct visualization of the nerves. In this paper, we share our early clinical experience with 7T for benign neurogenic tumors. Materials Patients with benign neurogenic tumors and 7T MRI examinations available were reviewed. Cases of individual benign peripheral nerve tumors were included to demonstrate 7T MRI imaging characteristics. All exams were performed on a 7T MRI MAGNETOM Terra using a 28-channel receive, single-channel transmit knee coil. Results Five cases of four pathologies were selected from 38 patients to depict characteristic imaging features in different benign nerve tumors and lesions using 7T MRI. Conclusion The primary advantage of 7T over 3T is an increase in signal-to-noise ratio which allows higher in plane resolution so that the smallest neural structures can be seen and characterized. This improvement in MR imaging provides the opportunity for more accurate diagnosis and surgical planning in selected cases. As this technology continues to evolve for clinical purposes, we anticipate increasing applications and improved patient care using 7T MRI for the diagnosis of peripheral nerve masses.