LOW-FIELD MRI PELVIMETRY

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of low-field MRI pelvimetry and to correlate the results with X-ray pelvimetry. A t otal of 19 women underwent low-field MRI pelvimetry. Mediosagittal and transverse planes were used to measure the diameters of the minor pel vic cavity. Correlations between MRI and X-ray pelvimetry were 0.96 fo r the sagittal inlet, 0.94 for the sagittal outlet, 0.93 for the trans verse diameter (diameter transversa, DT) and 0.93 for the bispinous di stance (interspinous distance, IS). The repeatability of the measureme nts was good. For fetuses with cephalic presentation it was also possi ble to determine the biparietal diameter (BPD). Low-field MRI pelvimet ry was well accepted by the patients. The scanning time was less than 6 min, which is comparable with the time of X-ray examination with two planes. Magnetic resonance imaging provides a reliable method to imag e pelvic structures and soft tissue without ionizing radiation.