[Diagnosis of oropharyngeal function with FLASH-MR tomography]

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has several advantages over conventional X-ray methods: the patient is not exposed to radiation; images of any chosen level can be taken without changing the position of the patient; soft tissues are well differentiated; and artefacts due to dental materials are avoided. Thus, in certain fields of ENT diagnosis MRI is superior to computed tomography, for example, in the imaging of acoustic neuromas, glomus tumours and tumours of the parotids, oropharynx and orbit. The measuring time per slice image, which was previously measured in minutes, has been reduced by a factor up to 1000 by the FLASH (fast low angle shot) technique. Thus, it is now possible to follow human physiological processes on an MRI film with a frame speed of 5 pictures using a whole-body magnet. Films of speech, tongue movements and the act of swallowing reveal the value of this technique for the functional diagnosis of disease of the oropharynx. Precise imaging of the anatomical and functional situation, especially of soft tissues, is superior to that of previous methods such as ultrasound, X-ray, and endoscopy.