Whole-body MRI using a sliding table and repositioning surface coil approach

OBJECTIVE: To introduce and assess a new way of performing whole-body magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using a non-integrated surface coil approach as available on most clinical MRI systems worldwide. METHODS: Ten consecutive asymptomatic subjects prospectively underwent whole-body MRI for health screening. Whole-body MRI included T1-, T2- and diffusion-weighted sequences, and was performed using a non-integrated surface coil to image four different stations without patient repositioning. The four separately acquired stations were merged, creating seamless coronal whole-body T1-, T2- and diffusion-weighted images. Anatomical alignment, image quality at the boundaries of adjacent stations, and overall image quality of all stations were qualitatively assessed. RESULTS: The average time (±SD) taken to change the surface coil from one station to the next station was 53.8 (±7.1) s. The average total extra examination time ± SD was 2 min 41.4 s (±15.3 s). Anatomical alignment, image quality at the boundaries of adjacent stations, and overall image quality of all stations of T1-, T2- and diffusion-weighted whole-body MRI were overall graded as “good” to “excellent”. CONCLUSION: This study shows that a time-efficient and high-quality whole-body MRI examination can easily be performed by using a non-integrated sliding surface coil approach. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00330-009-1674-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.