Screening with MRI: a new "all inclusive" protocol.

Abstract

In the past decades, only mammography has been considered to be a valuable radiological screening test in the European community, as the amount of ionizing radiation associated with other radiological imaging modalities did not justify their use for screening. MRI overcomes many limitations inherent to other imaging methods: lack of ionizing radiation, high spatial and temporal resolution, and unsurpassed soft-tissue contrast. Up to now, only few diseases have been screened for with MR: primarily breast cancer and colonic cancer. A new 60-minute comprehensive MR screening protocol is now capable of assessing the central nervous, the peripheral and the cardiovascular system, as well as the colon, allowing for screening of several diseases simultaneously.