Whole-body magnetic resonance imaging of healthy volunteers: pilot study results from the population-based SHIP study.
OBJECTIVE
Approximately 4000 volunteers will undergo whole-body magnetic resonance imaging (WB-MRI) within the next 3 years in the population-based Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP). Here we present a pilot study conducted (a) to determine the feasibility of adding a WB-MRI protocol to a large-scale population-based study, (b) to evaluate the reliability of standardized MRI interpretation, and (c) to establish an approach for handling pathological findings.


METHODS
The institutional review board approved the study, and oral and written informed consent was obtained from each participant. Two hundred healthy volunteers (99 women, 101 men; mean age 48.3 years) underwent a standardized WB-MRI protocol. The protocol was supplemented by contrast-enhanced cardiac MRI and magnetic resonance (MR) angiography in 61 men (60.4%) and cardiac MRI and MR mammography in 44 women (44.4%). MR scans were evaluated independently by two readers. Abnormalities were discussed by an advisory board and classified according to the need for further clinical work-up.


RESULTS
One hundred ninety-four (97.0%) WB-MRI examinations were successfully completed in a mean scan time per subject of 90 minutes. There were 431 pathological findings in 176 (88%) of the participants. Of those 45 (10.4%) required further clinical work-up and 386 (89.6%) characterized as benign lesions did not. The interobserver agreement for the detection of pathological findings was excellent (kappa = 0.799).


CONCLUSIONS
The preliminary results presented here indicate that a large prospective, population-based study using WB-MRI is feasible and that the results of image analysis are reproducible. A variety of positive findings provide valuable information regarding disease prevalence in a general adult population.
Hegenscheid
K
K
Institut für Diagnostische Radiologie und Neuroradiologie, Universitätsklinikum der Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universität Greifswald.
Kühn
J P
JP
Völzke
H
H
Biffar
R
R
Hosten
N
N
Puls
R
R
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D049448:Cholangiopancreatography, Magnetic Resonance / Q000592:standards; D003287:Contrast Media; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000592:standards*; D033162:Incidental Findings; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography / Q000592:standards; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000592:standards*; D019028:Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Cine / Q000592:standards; D008297:Male; D008327:Mammography / Q000592:standards; D008875:Middle Aged; D009200:Myocardial Contraction / Q000502:physiology; D015588:Observer Variation; D009942:Organometallic Compounds; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care / Q000592:standards; D012016:Reference Values; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012633:Secretin; D013673:Technology Assessment, Biomedical; D051598:Whole Body Imaging / Q000592:standards*
D003287:Contrast Media; D009942:Organometallic Compounds; D012633:Secretin; C090600:gadobutrol