There are many clinical indications for abdominal MRI, ranging from cancer to vascular abnormalities to emergency assessment.  Abdominal MRI requires rapid imaging combined with other methods such as breath-holding, cardiac-triggered or respiratory-triggered imaging, and fat suppression in order to reliably show tissues of interest.

Our research projects focus on rapid imaging, ultimately aimed toward free-breathing 2D and 3D MRI.  3D methods offer high resolution and are often used in the presence of a contrast agent, both for angiography and perfusion assessments.  2D methods are very fast, able to resolve respiratory motion and peristalsis, and used for initial evaluation.  Diffusion-weighted imaging is being performed more frequently in the body, as the contrast offers an alternative that can highlight cancer or inflammation.