MR imaging of enucleated human eyes at 1.4 tesla

Proton magnetic resonance images obtained for nine human eyes with various pathology were correlated with histological findings. One eye with retinal gliosis, three eyes with malignant melanoma, one eye with extraocular squamous cell carcinoma, one pair of eyes with incipient senile cataracts, and one pair of eyes with diabetic cataracts were examined at a field strength of 1.4 T using spin-echo and inversion-recovery signal acquisition protocols. Eyes were examined unfixed and within 24 h of enucleation. Most images were characterized by a homogeneous vitreous and a lens made conspicuous by its low-signal intensity. The anterior chamber, ciliary body, and optic nerve could be seen, but the retina and choroidal layers could not be distinguished. The dynamic range of vitreal signal was quite wide and allowed all lesions in this series to be well-contrasted against the vitreous. In addition, lenticular edema accompanying cataract formation gave a strong signal. Signal differences were apparent between paired cataractous lenses with a 1.6% difference in water content. Magnetic resonance imaging is a modality that promises good contrast for ocular imaging and sensitive detection of incipient cataractous change.