MR defecography at 1.5 Tesla with radial real-time imaging at a reduced FOV.

Purpose: To evaluate a new technique for MR defecography with real-time ima ging using radial k-space profiles. Materials and Methods: A catheter-mount ed condom was inserted into the rectum of 16 patients and filled in situ by a mixture of Nestargel(R) and Gadolinium. After multiplanar imaging of the pelvis by high resolution T-2-weighted turbo-spin echo sequences, defecati on was imaged by a gradient echo sequence with radial k-space filling using a reduced field of view (rFOV) in real-time. The documentation was perform ed on an S-VHS recorder. Results: At a constant background signal, radial k -space filling yields a real-time impression. An interactive software allow ed the operator to modify the slice thickness, slice plane, flip angle and slice angulation during scanning, resulting in an optimum imaging quality o f the defecation. Conclusions: This new imaging technique allows real-time MR defecography in a high-field scanner and provides all anatomical and fun ctional information of the defecation.