High-Resolution Imaging of the Skull Base and Larynx

19.6 Conclusion

Parallel imaging is used presently in nearly all head-and- neck MR studies. When parallel imaging is used, one can produce images with the same resolution in a shorter time or images with a higher resolution in the same time. In the region of the skull base and the face the best choice is higher resolution, and in the moving parts of the neck (e.g. larynx) the best choice is the same resolution in a shorter time. Parallel imaging can also be used to produce a greater number of thin slices, covering a larger anatomical area, in the same time. Moreover, the use of parallel-imaging techniques also reduces T2* blurring, susceptibility artefacts and eddy-current distortion which is very helpful in these regions where both bone and air are present. Finally, the use of concentric sets of synergy coils enables both local high-resolution imaging and more global region imaging.