Application of short-time magnetic resonance examination for intervertebral disc diseases in dogs

The usefulness of magnetic resonance (MR) is already established, but it has a disadvantage of requiring a long scanning time. A short-time examination is more or less needed so as to be more practical in veterinary clinics. A protocol of the short-time MR examination was devised based on parameters determined, and validity of the protocol was assessed through the diagnosis of clinical cases with intervertebral disc diseases. With this protocol, it was possible to complete an MR examination for the spine within 15 min. The MR images and myelographic findings were correlated well in this study, suggesting the short-time protocol of MR examination can be used in the clinical diagnosis of spinal diseases.