Role of susceptibility weighted magnetic resonance imaging in neurological diagnosis

Objectives: The role of susceptibilities in a magnetic field can be used for imaging a diverse group of disease patterns in the human body. The objective of this study is to utilize these properties in the spectrum of neurological diseases. Materials and methods: This is a prospective and retrospective study conducted in the department of radio diagnosis, KMC Hospital, Ambedkar Circle in Mangalore. Over a period of 3 years, utilizing 1.5 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging machine on subjects who had come for routine neurological consultation with clinical indications for imaging. 129 patients of any age group with suspected haemorrhage, infarct, trauma, seizures, intracranial infections, intracranial venous thrombosis and vascular malformations were studied. Results: A total of 129 subjects were studied-40 cases of acute stroke,40 cases of haemorrhage, 8 cases with suspected micro haemorrhages, 15 cases of venous thrombosis, 11 cases of calcifications and 14 cases of contrast enhancement manifesting on SWI imaging in the form of varied susceptibilities to clinch the diagnosis and enable appropriate treatment. Conclusion: Susceptibility weighted imaging is an effective and useful diagnostic tool in magnetic resonance imaging diagnosis for a variety of neurological conditions.