An-Najah Staff

Magnet resonance colonography (MRC) is a promising method for the depiction of colorectal pathologies. For colorectal masses exceeding 10mm, high accuracy values (92% to 100%) have been reported (1). However, due to limited spatial resolution, the detection rate of smaller pathologies is only fair. Another limitation of current MRC protocols is related to relatively long data acquisition of up to 25 seconds, which need to be performed under breath-hold conditions. Especially in elderly patients or patients with diseases of the respiratory tract, this can result in severe motion artefacts hampering a reliable assessment of the colon. The underlying problems may be solved by new image acquisition techniques providing a higher spatial resolution and / or a decreased acquisition time. These parallel acquisition techniques (PAT) have recently been successfully applied for MR colonography in an in-vitro study (2). Aim of the current trial was to prove the practicability of PAT imaging for MR colonography in-vivo.

In the last few years virtual colonography using MR imaging has shown a proceeding development regarding detection and quantification of colorectal pathologies. Dark-lumen MR colonography (MRC) has been a leading tool for the diagnosis of the entire colon and their pathologies. This review article describes some of the underlying techniques of MRC concerning data acquisition, the need for intravenously applied paramagnetic contrast agent, as well as indications, results and limitations of MRC for the detection of colorectal pathologies. In addition, new techniques to improve patient acceptance are discussed.