Currently, conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques using T2-weighted image (T2WI), fluid attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR), and pre-contrast and post-contrast T1-weighted image (T1WI) scans are routinely used for the examination of brain tumours, but accurate assessment of tumour grading cannot be achieved in some cases.
Recent advances in techniques using functional magnetic resonance imaging data demonstrate individually specific variation in brain architecture in healthy individuals.
The imaging techniques using traditional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have the major limitation of studying the spine in a position of relative functional rest, as images are acquired with the patient in the supine position while the pain exacerbates in the upright position.
There is some enthusiasm for either drug therapy (Berthier et al., 2011) or cortical stimulation techniques, using transcranial magnetic or direct current stimulation (Hamilton et al., 2011; Elsner et al., 2013), but the studies to date are too small to allow any confident conclusions to be drawn from the results.
Indeed, whole-body imaging techniques using radioactive or magnetic labeling dyes, fluorescent markers or reporter genes, all have disadvantages and probably a combination of different imaging modalities is needed to provide a reliable picture.
These magnetic techniques are used for decades to accelerate or move objects, for instance for catheter navigation in the human body, metal forming or for fast opening of electrical circuit breakers.
On the other hand, extrinsic magnetic manipulation technique uses cells conjugated with magnetically active external components, such as magnetic nanoparticles to enable manipulation.
Parallel magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques use spatial information from arrays of radiofrequency (RF) detector coils to accelerate imaging.
Some magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques use inherent properties of tissues to provide endogenous imaging contrast.
This article discusses the computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) scanning techniques used for the detection and staging of renal cell carcinoma and their pitfalls.
