MRI of the knee: 3.0T versus 1.5T

Purpose: MRI is known to be an imaging modality of high specificity and accuracy for the knee. Since introduction of highfield MRI at 3.0T, the increase of signal with the new system enables us to examine patients with better resolution, less time, or other coil designs. Due to the lack of dedicated knee and surface coils the body coil serves as a substitute in many regions of interest for whole-body MRI. The aim of this study was to evaluate the image quality of scans acquired with a 3.0T/body coil setting in comparison with standard 1.5T/dedicated knee coil exams. Methods: 26 patients were imaged with both 1.5…