The clinical applications of nuclear magnetic resonance for renal mass

Twenty-four patients with renal mass (16 with renal cancer, 3 with renal angiolipomyoma, and 5 with renal cyst) were studied using a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging system operating at 0.15 T with a resistive type magnet. NMR images were compared with x-ray CT and operative findings. The overall accuracy of NMR imaging in the detection of renal masses was not so high as that of x-ray CT, because it has less spatial resolution than x-ray CT as a result of uniform static magnetic field and respiratory movement. However, NMR imaging was superior in the qualitative diagnosis of angiolipomyoma. It will be a very promising modality in clinical practice when chemical shift imaging and the application of contrast media to NMR imaging become available. (Namekawa, K.)