Musculoskeletal MRI: dedicated systems

The "dedicated" MRI units have characteristics of high diagnostic accuracy and lower installation management costs as compared with whole-body systems . The dedicated PL IRI units are easy to install. The low weight allows the ir installation also under unfavorable circumstances. In a dedicated system cost-effectiveness rind ease of installation must be accompanied by the ca pability of providing high-quality images. Tn our experience, the: high num ber of examinations performed, the most part of which provided with the sur gical controls, allowed an accurate evaluation of the diagnostic potentiali ties of thr dedicated magnet. We were not able to perform the examinations in only 3% of cases due to the physical shape of the patient and thr clinic al condition of the patient which may hinder the correct positioning of en the limb. The overlapping of the diagnostic accuracy of the E-scan and Arto scan units in thr study of the lower limbs, compared with whole-body units and surgery, prompted us to exploit the potentialities or the E-Scan in the study of the shoulder. We had a, good correlation between E-Scan, whole-bo dy units, and surgical findings, which confirmed the high diagnostic accura cy of the dedicated system. In conclusion, in our experience carried out in the musculoskeletal system, the dedicated magnets showed promising results . Their diagnostic ri liability anti utility was comparable to that obtaine d from conventional units operating at higher magnetic fields.