Francesca Maccioni, MD

Advances in MR technology have improved the quality of abdominal MRI and hence the ability to assess intestinal diseases. Rapid acquisition sequences have reduced the incidence of motion artifacts from intestinal peristalsis, while the use of phased-array coils has increased spatial resolution. Several intestinal contrast agents have undergone extensive trials. Meanwhile, the use of sequences that modulate MRI signal selectively, for example by suppressing fat tissue signal, can improve gadolinium-related enhancement on T1-weighted images, as well as boosting T2 signal in pathologic tissues.