Rofo 2009; 181 - A16
DOI: 10.1055/s-0028-1124047

MR mammography at 7 Tesla: Preliminary results

L Umutlu 1, 2, S Maderwald 1, 2, O Kraff 1, 2, JM Theysohn 1, 2, S Kümmel 1, 2, EA Hauth 3, M Forsting 1, 2, ME Ladd 1, 2, T Lauenstein 1, 2
  • 1University Hospital Essen/Germany
  • 2Erwin L Hahn Insitute, Essen/Germany
  • 3University Hospital Muenster/Germany

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine a specific MR mammography protocol for a 7 Tesla whole-body scanner and compare imaging results with 1.5 Tesla MR mammography.

Methods and Materials: For the examination of a single breast, a 10-cm-diameter single loop transmit/receive coil (Rapid Biomedical, Würzburg, Germany) was used on a 7-Tesla whole-body MRI system (Magnetom 7T, Siemens Healthcare). In vivo measurements were performed in 10 healthy volunteers and 5 patients with breast cancer. The following sequences were acquired: 1) T2-weighted TSE and 2) dynamic contrast-enhanced T1-weighted spoiled gradient-echo (3D-FLASH). All subjects were additionally examined in a 1.5 Tesla whole-body MRI system using a standardized clinical protocol. Subtraction images were generated both at 1.5T and 7T.

Results: In 10 of 15 cases the 7T RF transmit/receive coil provided sufficient SNR and image contrast over the region of interest. The first images of 7T MR mammography presented highly detailed anatomy and depicted all known malignant lesions in the dynamic T1w sequences. However, the T2w images showed no relevant differences between 7T and 1.5T.

Conclusion: Our results underline the high potential of 7T MR mammography. The higher SNR might be beneficial in revealing detailed anatomical and pathological features. The restrictive factors of suboptimal penetration depth, SAR limitations, and the inability of parallel imaging need to be pursued by more advanced coil concepts.