Breast MRI at 7 Tesla with a bilateral coil and T1-weighted acquisition with robust fat suppression: image evaluation and comparison with 3 Tesla

• Published in: European radiology Vol. 23; no. 11; pp. 2969 - 2978
• Main Authors: Brown, Ryan, Storey, Pippa, Geppert, Christian, McGorty, KellyAnne, Leite, Ana Paula Klautau, Babb, James, Sodickson, Daniel K., Wiggins, Graham C., Moy, Linda
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.11.2013; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adipose Tissue - pathology; Adult; Breast; Breast - pathology; Breast cancer; Breast Diseases - diagnosis; Diagnosis, Differential; Diagnostic Radiology; Equipment Design; Female; Humans; Imaging; Imaging, Three-Dimensional - methods; Internal Medicine; Interventional Radiology; Magnetic fields; Magnetic resonance imaging; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - instrumentation; Mammography; Medical screening; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Neuroradiology; Radiology; Reproducibility of Results; Signal to noise ratio; Ultrasound; Young Adult; New York; United States > US; High-field MRI; Breast cancer; Fat suppression; RF coil array; Bilateral breast imaging
• ISSN: 0938-7994; 1432-1084; 1432-1084
• DOI: 10.1007/s00330-013-2972-1

Objectives To evaluate the image quality of T1-weighted fat-suppressed breast MRI at 7 T and to compare 7-T and 3-T images. Methods Seventeen subjects were imaged using a 7-T bilateral transmit-receive coil and 3D gradient echo sequence with adiabatic inversion-based fat suppression (FS). Images were graded on a five-point scale and quantitatively assessed through signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), fibroglandular/fat contrast and signal uniformity measurements. Results Image scores at 7 and 3 T were similar on standard-resolution images (1.1 × 1.1 × 1.1-1.6 mm 3 ), indicating that high-quality breast imaging with clinical parameters can be performed at 7 T. The 7-T SNR advantage was underscored on 0.6-mm isotropic images, where image quality was significantly greater than at 3 T (4.2 versus 3.1, P  ≤ 0.0001). Fibroglandular/fat contrast was more than two times higher at 7 T than at 3 T, owing to effective adiabatic inversion-based FS and the inherent 7-T signal advantage. Signal uniformity was comparable at 7 and 3 T ( P  < 0.05). Similar 7-T image quality was observed in all subjects, indicating robustness against anatomical variation. Conclusion The 7-T bilateral transmit-receive coil and adiabatic inversion-based FS technique produce image quality that is as good as or better than at 3 T. Key Points • High image quality bilateral breast MRI is achievable with clinical parameters at 7 T. • 7-T high-resolution imaging improves delineation of subtle soft tissue structures. • Adiabatic-based fat suppression provides excellent fibroglandular/fat contrast at 7 T. • 7- and 3-T 3D T1-weighted gradient-echo images have similar signal uniformity. • The 7-T dual solenoid coil enables bilateral imaging without compromising uniformity.