Abdominal MRI

Comprehensive MRI of the abdomen covering the liver, kidneys, pancreas, spleen, adrenal glands, and retroperitoneal structures on a Siemens 3T system. The scan uses breath-hold and respiratory-gated sequences to minimise motion artefact, producing diagnostic-quality images for lesion characterisation, organ assessment, and vascular evaluation.

Abdominal MRI at 3 Tesla offers advantages over both CT and lower-field MRI for specific clinical questions. The liver in particular benefits from higher field strength — gadolinium-enhanced hepatobiliary-phase imaging (using agents like Gd-EOB-DTPA) can characterise lesions down to 5 mm with greater confidence, which matters for patients under surveillance for hepatocellular carcinoma or with indeterminate lesions found on ultrasound. HELIMED's abdominal protocol includes T2-weighted HASTE (half-Fourier single-shot turbo spin echo) in axial and coronal planes, T1-weighted in-phase and opposed-phase gradient echo for fat-containing lesion characterisation, diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) with apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) mapping for tumour cellularity assessment, and dynamic contrast-enhanced sequences when indicated. The kidney and adrenal evaluation includes chemical-shift imaging to distinguish lipid-rich adenomas from metastatic deposits. MRCP (magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography) can be added as a non-invasive alternative to ERCP for biliary and pancreatic duct visualisation. The examination takes 35 to 50 minutes depending on whether contrast and MRCP are included. All images are reviewed by radiologists with body imaging subspecialisation.