MR cholangiopancreatography

MR cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) is still a rapidly evolving technique, but has been already accepted as clinically useful and is widely used to evaluate biliary or pancreatic diseases in a noninvasive way. This technique uses MR imaging to visualize stationary or slow-moving fluid, such as bile, displaying them as high signal intensity. Heavily T2-weighted sequences are generally used for MRCP with single-shot echo-train spin echo technique achieving the most widespread use. Recent studies show that MRCP is comparable with or more useful than other techniques, such as ultrasound, CT, and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) to study choledocholithiasis, malignant obstruction of the biliary or pancreatic ducts, congenital anomalies, and chronic pancreatitis [1-7]. With further improvements of hardware and technique, MRCP is expected to replace diagnostic ERCP to examine the biliary and pancreatic ducts in the near future.