The Feasibility Of 5T MRI For Imaging Oral Tissues

This paper is the first to investigate the imaging effect of 5T MRI on tissue structures in the oral cavity, to explore the feasibility of imaging oral tissues with 5T MRI, and to compare it with 3T MRI and CBCT. Eighteen healthy volunteers (12 females, 6 males, mean age 29.28±5.27) participated in this prospective study. Four imaging sequences T1W, T1W-FS, T2W-FS, PDW-FS were scanned on 5T and 3T MRI for comparison. The study protocol was approved by the Ethical Review Committee (No. XHEC-C-2023-135-1). Two blinded independent observers performed qualitative comparisons between 5T MRI, 3T MRI, and CBCT using a 5-point Likert scale. Quantitative comparisons between 5T MRI and 3T MRI were performed using the SNR and CNR, and the scan times of 5T MRI and 3T MRI were also compared. The four sequences of 5T were compared to identify the optimal scanning protocol for different tissue structures. All 9 oral structures ratings and image quality ratings showed that 5T was significantly better than 3T (all p < 0.05). Compared with 3T, 5T had significantly higher SNR and CNR (all p < 0.05) in all structures. The qualitative scores of 5T were not significantly different from those of CBCT, and were even better than CBCT on some structures and sequences. 5T MRI can provide high-quality imaging of oral tissue structures in in-vivo applications, serving as a radiation-free and accurate dental examination tool.