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THE CURRENT ROLE OF FETAL MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 February 2008
Extract
The techniques currently used by most specialist centres for magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of the fetus were developed in the 1990s, when fast imaging sequences capable of good soft tissue contrast were introduced. Earlier pioneering work on fetal MR imaging in the early 1980s revealed some promise for this application, but at the time it was not generally considered of diagnostic quality or clinical practicality because of the long acquisition times and inevitable image degradation resulting from fetal movement, problems which were overcome only by means of maternal sedation or neuromuscular blockade of the fetus. As with the early development of MR imaging in general, it is the ability to image central nervous system (CNS) tissues with a clarity and contrast far exceeding X-ray computed tomography and ultrasound that has shown the most benefit to date. Subsequent development of techniques for specific problem solving in other areas of the body will undoubtedly follow.
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- Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008
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