Feasibility of Routine Abdominal MR Imaging in Patients at 0.55T: Comparison with 1.5 and 3T

Abdominal MRI performed in 51 patients on a commercial 0.55T system were retrospectively and independently rated by two radiologists for diagnostic performance and image quality (IQ). Twenty-eight patients had comparison scans performed at higher field strengths. The clinical question was answered by both radiologists in all 51 cases performed at 0.55T, and the average IQ of all sequences was acceptable. In the subset of patients with comparison studies, the average IQ scores were significantly higher at 0.55T for DWI. No statistically significant difference was seen in IQ for the other sequences. Total acquisition time was almost double at 0.55T.