MRI of the chest gives detailed pictures of structures within the chest cavity, including the mediastinum, chest wall, pleura, heart and vessels, from almost any angle. MRI also provides movie-like sequential imaging of the cardiovascular system that is important to assess the health and function of these structures (heart, valves, great vessels, etc.).

 

What are some common uses of the procedure?

 

MR imaging of the chest is performed to:

 

⦁ assess abnormal masses, including cancer of the lungs or other tissues, which either cannot be assessed adequately      with other imaging modalities (typically CT) or which are particularly well-suited to MR imaging.

 

⦁ determine tumor size, extent, and the degree of spread to adjacent structures.

 

⦁ assess the anatomy and function of the heart and its component structures (valves, etc.).

 

⦁ assess myocardial perfusion (blood flow to the heart) and myocardial infarct (scar in the heart muscle due to prior            obstruction of blood flow).

 

⦁ determine blood flow dynamics in the vessels and heart chambers.

 

⦁ display lymph nodes and blood vessels, including vascular and lymphatic malformations of the chest.

 

⦁ assess disorders of the chest bones (vertebrae, ribs and sternum) and chest wall soft tissue (muscles and fat).

 

⦁ assess for pericardial (thin sac around the heart) disease.

 

⦁ characterize mediastinal or pleural lesions seen by other imaging modalities, such as chest x-ray or CT.