Rectal MRI: the importance of high resolution T2 technique

The cornerstone of the MRI rectal examination is the high resolution (HR) T2 sequence. There is varied definition of this term in national guidelines with a resultant wide variation in the spatial resolution of sequences termed 'high resolution'. This article comments on the importance of the original three dimensional HR T2 definition of 0.6 × 0.6 in plane resolution × 3 mm slice thickness with 4 NEX and demonstrates the effect reduced spatial resolution can have on image appearance and interpretation.