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Magnetic resonance imaging in neonates: a practical approach to optimize image quality and increase diagnostic yield

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Abstract

Magnetic resonance imaging has emerged as a preferred modality in pediatric imaging because of its high soft-tissue contrast and the lack of ionizing radiation. It is important to recognize that despite its many advantages, several challenges to performing neonatal MRI arise from the lack of patient compliance and the small size of the anatomy. This manuscript presents the approach to patient preparation used at the authors’ institution, summarizes general principles of image optimization and hardware selection, and reviews common indications across various organ systems. This manuscript also incorporates input from our pediatric-trained MRI technologists, in an attempt to compile a practical guideline covering all major aspects of neonatal MRI, from its execution to its interpretation.

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Acknowledgments

This work was partially supported by the Office of Faculty Development at Boston Children’s Hospital (C.J.), an American Roentgen Ray Society Scholarship (C.J.), the Rosamund Stone Zander Center for Translational Neuroimaging at Boston Children’s Hospital (C.J.) and the Young Investigator Award from the Society for Pediatric Radiology (M.A.B., C.J.).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Boston Children’s Hospital, 300 Longwood Ave., Boston, MA, 02215, USA

    Atsuhiko Handa, Limin Xu, Fedel Machado-Rivas, Maria Camila Cortes-Albornoz, Matthew Ruggiero, M. Alejandra Bedoya, Edward Yang & Camilo Jaimes

  2. Computational Radiology Laboratory, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    Fedel Machado-Rivas, Maria Camila Cortes-Albornoz & Camilo Jaimes

  3. Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Atsuhiko Handa, Limin Xu, Fedel Machado-Rivas, Maria Camila Cortes-Albornoz, M. Alejandra Bedoya, Edward Yang, Michael S. Gee & Camilo Jaimes

  4. Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    Fedel Machado-Rivas, Michael S. Gee & Camilo Jaimes

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  1. Atsuhiko Handa
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  2. Limin Xu
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  3. Fedel Machado-Rivas
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  4. Maria Camila Cortes-Albornoz
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  6. M. Alejandra Bedoya
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  7. Edward Yang
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  8. Michael S. Gee
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  9. Camilo Jaimes
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Correspondence to Camilo Jaimes.

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Handa, A., Xu, L., Machado-Rivas, F. et al. Magnetic resonance imaging in neonates: a practical approach to optimize image quality and increase diagnostic yield. Pediatr Radiol 53, 1300–1313 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00247-022-05550-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00247-022-05550-0

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