Update on Advances in Musculoskeletal Magnetic Resonance Imaging

This new issue of Seminars in Musculoskeletal Radiology focuses on advances musculoskeletal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The next issue will deal with advances musculoskeletal computed tomography (CT). The evolution of musculoskeletal CT and MRI share some similarities.

For years, morphological assessment of the musculoskeletal system was the main focus of cross-sectional imaging techniques. With new technological advances, the morphological information available from either CT or MRI has been continually increasing (i.e., through increased resolution, from two-dimensional to three-dimensional [3D] isotropic imaging, optimized contrast, decreased artifacts, and larger coverage). And while image quality has been improving, faster acquisitions have allowed even more information to be obtained at the same time. In MRI, the use of higher magnetic fields, higher performance gradients and coils, and parallel imaging count among technological improvements that have allowed morphological imaging to advance.

More recently, research efforts have also focused on a shift from morphological toward so-called functional imaging to better capture the essence of the musculoskeletal system, the system of movement.

The articles in the current and in upcoming issues of Seminars in Musculoskeletal Radiology will cover both advanced morphological and functional imaging techniques of the musculoskeletal system. Most of these techniques have already made their way into day-to-day practice; others open new perspectives on the way we have been imaging the musculoskeletal system. Topics in this issue range from practical applications of MRI such as 3D spin-echo techniques for the imaging of joints, metal artifact reduction techniques, Dixon techniques for fat suppression, and nononcologic applications of whole-body MRI, to emerging techniques such as ultrahigh-field MRI, qualitative and quantitative ultrashort TE sequences, and MR tractography.

Finally, readers will also find a consensus article of the European Society for Surgical Research for the use of MRI in musculoskeletal rheumatic diseases.

I would like to thank all the authors for their outstanding contributions and the editors, Marco Zanetti and Larry White, for giving me the opportunity and the honor to serve as a guest editor for this issue. My thanks are also due to Joycelyn Reid and her editorial team for their excellent work.