MR Imaging: Future Imaging Techniques

Breast MR imaging is the most sensitive modality for breast cancer detection. This high sensitivity has led to widespread adoption of this technique, particularly in screening women at elevated risk for breast cancer. Despite its high sensitivity, standard breast MR imaging protocols are limited by moderate specificity and relative higher cost, longer examination time, longer interpretation time, and lower availability compared with mammography and ultrasound. As such, new techniques in MR imaging, including abbreviated breast MR imaging, pharmacokinetic modeling, and diffusion-weighted imaging, are active areas of research. This article discusses the rationale, current evidence, and limitations of these new MR imaging techniques.