Relative SNR Measurements in Supine vs. Prone Breast MRI
The goal of this study was to compare image quality between the (conventional) prone and the supine position. Specifically, we measured relative signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) to demonstrate the advantage in signal quality of supine breast MRI.
Because breast shape alters significantly between positions, we developed a tissue-independent way to compare image quality fairly across positions. Ten women were scanned using a dedicated radiofrequency coil designed for each position. We then compared image quality in key areas: the breast tissue, chest wall, and armpit region.
Our analysis found that image quality was generally higher in the supine position for breast tissue and the chest wall. The results suggest that supine breast MRI with a dedicated flexible coil can produce images that are as good as, or better than, standard prone scans, while potentially improving patient comfort and treatment alignment.
Hess JJ, Moran CJ, Shah P, Vincent J, Robb F, Daniel BL, Hargreaves BA. Relative SNR Measurements in Supine vs. Prone Breast MRI. Magn Reson Med. 2025. doi 10.1002/mrm.70217
Anatomical and relative SNR maps (with and without acceleration) along with the g-factor maps for the given acceleration, for a central axial slice for three subjects (a, b, c). The segmentations for each subject are shown overlaid on the T1 image, with red indicating breast tissue, yellow indicating chest wall, and cyan indicating axilla. The three subjects varied in both breast size and shape, highlighting the possible patient variation in the clinic, as well as how that can affect rSNR.