[Detection of cancer by nuclear magnetic resonance imaging]

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging for medical diagnosis is rapidly approaching a time of widespread clinical trials. It may ultimately give images a clear as those obtained with computed tomography with a potential for defining tissue chemistry. Perhaps the method can be as free from hazard as is visual observation. The ability to produce coronal and sagittal as well as axial transverse images directly is shown to have important implications for precise lesion assessment. NMR imagings at high magnetic fields demonstrate excellent image quality and high spatial resolution. The variety of sequences possible with NMR allows a choice of images to reflect varying degrees of proton density and blood flow, as well as tissue spin-lattice (T1) and spin-spin relaxation (T2) times.