MR-guided core biopsy with MR fluoroscopy using a short, wide-bore 1.5-Tesla scanner: feasibility and initial results

To evaluate MR fluoroscopy in a short, wide-bore 1.5T MRI suitable for near real-time biopsy guidance.

A total of eight consecutive patients underwent MR-guided core biopsy in a 1.5T system with a 70 cm bore diameter. A total of five biopsies were performed in focal liver lesions, three biopsies in soft-tissue tumors. Before biopsy, three different fast MR sequences were compared for image quality (anatomical visibility, lesion visibility, and artifacts), and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) were calculated. In all cases, an MR-compatible guidance needle was positioned under MR fluoroscopy using the most suitable sequence.

In each patient the guidance needle could be placed accurately under MR fluoroscopy without having to remove the patient from the isocenter of the magnet during needle movement. All biopsies were technically successful and appropriate specimens could be obtained. In prebiopsy imaging, a T2-weighted single shot turbo spinecho sequence (half-Fourier acquisition single-shot turbo spin-echo [HASTE]) achieved the best rating for lesion visibility and superior SNR and CNR values.

Findings of this study demonstrate that MR fluoroscopy for biopsy guidance in a short, wide-bore 1.5T scanner is feasible. This scanner combines the patient access advantages of an open-bore system with the superior image quality and speed of a high-field scanner. In our series, the HASTE sequence was best suited for MR-guidance of biopsies.