Larynx: MR imaging at 2.35 T

To study the consequences of an improvement in spatial resolution, the authors compared magnetic resonance (MR) images of nine laryngeal specimens with whole-organ histologic slides of the same specimens. Five of the specimens were obtained during laryngectomies performed on patients with high-stage tumors of the larynx. Four specimens were from patients with no known disease. The MR images were obtained on a 2.35-T system with a closely fitting probe head. A conventional spin-echo sequence was used, with T1- and T2-weighted settings. The in-plane resolution obtained was about 0.3 mm. The T2-weighted images generally showed better contrast and allowed identification of the perichondrium. The resolutions used were not much greater than those clinically available. The findings suggest that there will be important advances in clinical MR imaging of the larynx in the near future.