Christoph Moenninghoff1,2, Stefan Maderwald1,2, Philipp Schuett3, Jens M. Theysohn1,2, Oliver Kraff1,2, Mark E. Ladd1,2, Thomas Gauler3, Michael Forsting1,2, Isabel Wanke1,2
1Erwin L. Hahn Institute for Magnetic Resonance Imaging, University Duisburg-Essen, Essen, NRW, Germany; 2Department for diagnostic and interventional radiology and neuroradiology, University Hospital Essen, Essen, NRW, Germany; 3Department of Internal Medicine, Cancer Research, University Hospital Essen, Essen, NRW, Germany
The purpose of this work was to compare the depiction of brain metastases of bronchial carcinomas with susceptibility-weighted and contrast-enhanced MRI at 7T and 1.5T. Twelve patients underwent MR examinations with SWI and contrast-enhanced T1-weighted MPRAGE sequences at both field strengths using a higher spatial resolution at 7T. 7T SWI MIPs depicted 20 more microhemorrhages in 12 patients compared to 1.5T. Double-dose contrast-enhanced 7T versus 1.5T T1-weighted images depicted the same number of metastases in 6 patients, whereas single-dose enhanced 7T T1w sequences missed several micrometastases. Application of double-dose CA and the higher achievable spatial resolution and sensitivity for susceptibility artifacts of 7T MRI are beneficial for the depiction of brain metastases.