Ultrahigh Field MRI Technology Provides More Effective Diagnosis of Breast Cancer

Austrian scientists have demonstrated for the first time that a 7-Tesla ultrahigh-field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can be used for clinical applications in patients with breast tumors. This may in help, in the near future, to provide a more effective breast cancer diagnosis.

The scientists’ study was published in the April 2014 issue of the journal European Radiology. In earlier research involving 7-Tesla MRI, the clinical application of the technology had been restricted to only one breast due to the limited coil technology available. “The new generation of coils allows clinical application on both sides,” explained Dr. Katja Pinker from the MedUni Vienna department of radiology and nuclear medicine, department of molecular imaging at the Medical University of Vienna (MedUni; Vienna; Austria), where the study was performed in collaboration with the High Field MR Center of Excellence and the Breast Health Center at the MedUni Vienna and Vienna General Hospital.

The 7-Tesla MRI scanner has a high diagnostic accuracy of 96.6%. Dr. Pinker stated, “The higher signal available with 7T [7 Tesla] permits a higher resolution, allowing fine details to be visualized better and a more certain diagnosis to be made. Diagnosis at molecular and metabolic level is also possible with diffusion-weighted or sodium imaging and spectroscopy, helping us to characterize tumors even more effectively.”

The overall outcome of the findings was that bilateral ultrahigh-field MRI of the breast with 7-Tesla can be used clinically without difficulties and “allows patients with breast tumors to be diagnosed more accurately,” the Dr. Pinker. “The future enhancement of ultrahigh-field MRI of the breast with 7-Tesla using molecular and metabolic imaging could represent a further step towards personalized medicine, since not every type of breast cancer is the same.”

By way of comparison, the current clinical standard MRI scans using a 3-Tesla device produce a diagnostic accuracy of up to 93% with the best equipment. The scanning time is also the same, whether it is a 3-Tesla or 7-Tesla MR scanner. The patient spends just over 15 minutes in the tunnel.

The clinical use of 7-Tesla in the examination of breast tumors is therefore possible immediately; however, it also depends on the availability of suitable equipment. Worldwide, there are only eight university institutions that have a 7-Tesla device, including one at the MedUni Vienna/Vienna General Hospital. The 7-Tesla MRI scanner has been around for five years at the MedUni Vienna, and it is the only device of its kind in Austria. The Center of Excellence for High Field MR is one of the world’s leading facilities for this technology.

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Medical University of Vienna