[New perspectives in 3D MR colonography]

Filling the colon lumen with contrast allows for 3D-MR-colonography. The 3D data set can be postprocessed to multiplanar reconstruction, surface shaded displays as well as virtual colonoscopy. The latter facilitates the differentiation between haustra and polyps and enables detection of polyps down to 6 mm in size. Multiplanar reconstructions provide the assessment of the inner wall contour. The morphology of the colonic wall itself can be assessed on T1- or T2-weighted images. T1-weighted sequences performed before and after i.v. contrast administration and T2-weighted sequences depict pathologies based on their contrast uptake respectively on their tissue water content. This concept of colonic imaging practicable in less than 15 minutes is useful for the assessment of inflammatory disease, for polyp detection as well as for tumour staging.