3T MRI: advances in brain imaging

Since its approval by the FDA in 2000, brain MR imaging at 3.0T has been increasingly used in clinical practice. Theoretically, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of a 3T MR scanner will be double that of a 1.5T scanner. However, the relationship between the magnetic field used and the image obtained is very complex. Today, using a 3T magnet in Neuroradiology has far more advantages than disadvantages, and the diagnostic potential of higher strength magnets for structural and vascular scans, diffusion and perfusion imaging, spectroscopy and cortical activation studies is improving. However, it is useful to have an awareness of how increasing field strength affects each of these techniques so that full advantage may be taken of them.