Three-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging of lung and liver tumors in mice by use of transversal multislice magnetic resonance images

Purpose: To diagnose lung and liver tumors experimentally induced in mice i n three-dimensional magnetic resonance (MR) images constructed by superimpo sing transversal multislice MR images of thoracic and abdominal regions tak en under a high magnetic field of 7.05 tesla (T), Methods: Lung and liver tumors were induced by administration of urethane t o A/J mice and implantation of transplantable colon-26 cells into BALB/c mi ce, respectively. Two-dimensional (2-D) multislice MR images from the thora cic to abdominal regions were taken under the proton density-weighted condi tions. Each organ in the 2-D MR images was pseudocolored, and a three-dimen sional (3-D) image was constructed by superimposing them on a UNIX computer , using volume-rendering software, Results: In the normal mouse, each organ in the thoracic and abdominal regi ons was three-dimensionally imaged and was clearly distinguished from the o thers. In mice with tumors in the lung or liver, the pathologic changes in the tissue could be visualized in 3-D images. Conclusions: The MR images three-dimensionally constructed by use of a meth od combining MR imaging under a high magnetic field of 7.05 T and a compute r technique using volume-rendering software was useful for diagnosis of lun g and liver tumors experimentally induced in mice.