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Abstract #3455

High-Resolution in vivo Imaging of Inguinal Lymph Nodes Using 7 Tesla MRI: A Feasibility Study.

Martin T. Freitag1, Mathies Breithaupt2, Ann-Kathrin Homagk2, Moritz Berger2, Bram Stieltjes1

1Quantitative Imaging-based Disease Characterization, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany; 2Department of Medical Physics in Radiology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany

Clinical imaging of inguinal lymph nodes plays a vital role in cancer staging. However, conventional MRI approaches lacks sufficient sensitivity to detect micro-metastasis in lymph nodes. Here, we present a feasible in vivo high resolution approach to visualize inguinal lymph nodes at 7 Tesla. Using a T1 sequence and a loop-coil we could stably acquire data at a 0.38x0.38x0.38 mm isotropic resolution. Normal lymph node architecture could be well visualized in all healthy subjects. In the melanoma patient, the absence of a fat hilus and the nodal infiltration with pathological vessels, both signs of malignant transformation, could be recognized readily.

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