Preface

The intent of Body MR Imaging at 3 Tesla is to provide a closer look at various MR applications within the chest, abdomen, and pelvis with specific emphasis on the effects of a higher 3T magnetic field strength.

Since the inception of MR imaging in the 1970s, radiologists have intensively searched for the optimal magnetic field strength, and this quest continues. In the early 1980s, a magnetic field strength of 0.3T was considered optimal. During the 1990s, we saw a shift toward 1T and 1.5T; and over the last ten years, we have seen a substantial trend toward 3T MR imaging. The search for higher field strength has been driven by the desire for an increase in signal-to-noise ratio, which can be kept to improve image quality, or traded for increased spatial resolution, improved temporal resolution, or both. Besides a gain in signal-to-noise ratio, other factors such as safety issues, image artifacts, and efficiency of contrast agents, to name a few, also have to be considered.