Abbreviated MRI Protocol: Initial Experience With Dotarem® (Gadoterate Meglumine)

Standard breast MRI studies often have lengthy protocols that make them inherently expensive and time-consuming. Several studies of the use of abbreviated MRI protocols have shown that the shorter protocols have diagnostic accuracy comparable to that of the conventional full MRI protocol. There are also promising results of ultrafast DCE-MRI studies with shorter breast MRI protocols that provide not only morphologic but also valuable kinetic information about a lesion. The shorter imaging times achieved with the abbreviated and the ultrafast DCE-MRI protocols have the potential to increase efficiency and lower cost by decreasing time in the MRI suite, which in turn may make breast MRI accessible for population-based mass screening. The focus of the proposed research is the investigation of an abbreviated MRI protocol with ultrafast imaging using Dotarem® (Gadoterate Meglumine).