NMR Imaging of the Liver and Kidney

Abstract

Over the past 2–3 years major advances in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging have been made. This new non-invasive imaging technique has been developed to the extent that images of the human body can be made which are comparable in appearance to early X-ray CT scans (Moore et al. 1980; Doyle et al. 1981; Smith 1981). The images may be displayed as axial sections in a similar way to X-ray CT, but here the similarity ends. NMR images are composed of either different proton density or proton spin-lattice relaxation time (T₁) measurements of the water in different body tissues, whereas X-ray CT images are composed of different X-ray coefficients of absorption. By studying the different proton compositions of different tissues it is possible to produce anatomically accurate images of the human body and to differentiate the different tissues therein. The normal grey and white matter of the brain have been clearly demonstrated (Moore et al. 1980) as have intracerebral tumours (Doyle et al. 1981) and other intracranial pathology (Smith to be published). In the abdomen it is possible to demonstrate the liver, spleen, kidneys and large blood vessels on the T₁ images and to demonstrate the vertebral bodies and pelvic bones using the proton density images.