Conventional magnetic resonance imaging of peripheral nerves: MR-neurography

Abstract

Peripheral neuropathy is known to be one of the most common neurological disorders. Despite the great diagnostic value of electroneuromyography and ultrasound, diagnostics and differential diagnostics of peripheral nerves diseases of different origin could be challenging. Magnetic resonance tomography has been increasingly used in recent years to evaluate cases of suspected or established peripheral neuropathy with excellent results. Manuscript deals mainly with advantages and limitations of abovementioned diagnostic instruments, technical considerations according to different anatomy of peripheral nerves and state-of-the-art technical decisions, frequently used MRI-sequences and their diagnostic value based on own observation, recommendations for contrast enhancement use, different methods of fat suppression. Currently there is practically no standardized description of normal MRI features of peripheral nerves as well as their changes in different diseases, evaluation of images is based mainly on the radiologist experience, which obviously decreases methods diagnostic value. Studies of large numbers of healthy volunteers and patients with peripheral neuropathies of different origin are required to solve this problem.