MR CholangioPancreatography (MRCP)

   A heavily T2-weighted technique that emphasizes signals from simple fluid, such as bile and pancreatic juice. The SSFSE localizer sequence that begins most abdominal MRI exams can serve as a tomographic MRCP sequence. The moderate TEef of about 180 msec. and the lack of fat suppression on these images allows signal from background tissue to provide anatomic landmarks. If maximum intensity projection (MIP) images are to be obtained, higher TEef and fat suppression should be used.
   Using an axial image, multiple coronal oblique images are obtained radially oriented around the pancreatic head. Additional oblique images should be obtained oriented along the pancreatic body/tail. With TEef nearly 1000 msec, only signals from fluid are depicted. Image thickness should be about 4 - 5 cm., and field of view should be about 25 cm. This technique provides high-resolution MRCP images with minimal motion sensitivity and no need for MIP reconstructions.
    Each image is obtained in less than one second. However, at least 10 seconds should elapse between each image, to prevent severe degradation caused by cross-talk from the overlapping thick sections.

Axial SSFSE image above is used to prescribe thick overlapping sections, oriented radially around the pancreatic head (yellow), and the pancreatic tail (green). Four of the MRCP images are shown at right.