USA MRI Director on CT and MRI

[Admin]

In our search to learn more about imaging techniques, an address to the Informed Prostate Cancer Support Group in California in November 2011 gives one opinion.

Note that the doctor is a Medical Director of a MRI centre, which may indicate both a deeper understanding and a narrower focus.

In my personal diagnosis, transrectal ultrasound identified a large cancer mass in the prostate, and an MRI identified the fine streams of cancer growing out of my prostate and up and around the seminal vesicles.

Imaging is an important tool to see if there is cancer and where it is located. The goal is to find it

early and determine if it is amenable for long term survival. Imaging choices include:

1. CT (CAT)-Doesn’t have much of a role because I doesn’t adequately see the tumor
   
2. Transrectal Ultrasound-sees the troubled area and helps direct biopsies
   
3. MRI-can see soft tissue delineation and has good spatial resolution
   

Dr. Low focused on Dynamic Contrast Enhanced MRI (DCE). His practice prefers to use a coil

placed on the outside of the prostate area which is connected to the MRI machine. They use a field

strength of 1.5 tesla (magnetic flux density) enhanced with colorization through computer software which

will look at how the tissue enhances. Any red or green areas are tumors.

The value of DCE is in tracking changes.

1. Staging to help determine the seriousness of the cancer
   
2. Monitoring response to treatment
   
3. Detecting residual recurrent tumors
   
4. Directing Biopsies