High-Resolution MRI of the Wrist

The Department of Radiological Sciences Musculoskeletal section at UCI Medical Center provides state-of-the-art high-resolution wrist MRI. This advanced imaging uses 3T MRI scanners, which includes an isotropic 3D fast spin echo (FSE) proton density-weighted sequence with or without fat suppression, obtained with a 7 cm field of view (FOV), 0.35 mm voxel size, and an approximately five-minute scan time.

Formed from a Research Collaboration

A research collaboration between Philips Healthcare and UCI Medical Center radiologists originally developed this isotropic 3D FSE sequence. It is now available as part of routine clinical imaging for patients with wrist pain of ulnar structural origin at UCI Medical Center. UC Irvine radiologists have published many peer-reviewed scientific articles showing the advantages of this high-resolution scanning.

State-of-the-art Imaging

Isotropic 3D MRI of the wrist allows radiologists to evaluate small, complicated ligaments and other structures of the wrist, especially the triangular fibrocartilage complex (TFCC), which is otherwise difficult to see with other techniques. The TFCC is a fibrocartilage-ligament complex that stabilizes the distal radioulnar joint of the wrist, transmits axial load between the carpus and the ulna and stabilizes the ulnar aspect of the carpus. The most common mechanism of TFCC injury is a fall onto an outstretched hand. The patient presenting with wrist pain of ulnar structural origin may present with either diffuse pain referred across the wrist or focal ulnar-sided pain. Pain is exacerbated by activities or positioning involving ulnar-directed wrist deviation and forearm rotation.

MRI wrist arthrogram is often used to image the TFCC, allowing for improved visualization of the closely grouped ligamentous structures following joint distention with injected contrast. When evaluating isotropic 3D images, our fellowship-trained musculoskeletal radiologists use a real-time multiplanar reconstruction (MPR) function at the workstation. This can more accurately demonstrate a focal tear of the TFCC and other subtle pathologies.