Since it arrived on the clinical scene in the 1970s, MRI has proven to be a valuable tool in radiologists' patient care arsenal, supporting diagnosis and treatment of everything from brain and musculoskeletal conditions to cancers in the breast, the prostate, and the liver -- without imparting radiation.
The modality's scope has been further expanded to cardiac imaging, and RSNA meeting attendees can expect lively discussion of the use of MRI for heart applications, including investigations of the safety of MRI in patients with cardiac implantable electronic devices, the efficacy of MR angiography, the use of cardiac MRI to evaluate risk in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension, and to assess heart injury after stroke.
Researchers will highlight how MRI biomarkers are improving diagnosis and treatment, particularly for breast cancer: For example, helping clinicians identify chemotherapy-resistant subtypes in HR+/HER2 disease and revealing phenotypes linked to ipsilateral breast cancer recurrence. Also on the breast imaging side, expect to hear about reduced gadolinium doses and ultrafast exams.
At the meeting, presenters will share study results regarding the use of MRI to assess patients' neurological health, including the effect of long COVID on the brain and how tracking "magnetic susceptibility" helps detect aging-related brain tissue alterations associated with neurodegenerative vulnerability
Finally, don't miss special sessions highlighting "hot topics" in the modality, such as a course on using MRI to diagnose diffuse liver disease, another on imaging dementia, and sessions that will host debates on topics like the use of CT versus MRI for incidental renal masses and the role of MRI for prostate cancer screening.
Check out the presentations we're highlighting below, and for even more on MRI at the meeting, take a look at the RSNA 2026 program.
ECOG-ACRIN 8171 results confirm mpMRI's ability to detect prostate cancer
Sunday, November 29 | 10:00 a.m.- 10:10 a.m. | S1-SSGU01-7 | Room E353B
Study findings indicate that multiparametric MRI using PI-RADS v2.1 accurately identifies clinically significant prostate cancer pre-surgery.
MRI indicates link between long COVID and persistent brain dysfunction
Sunday, November 29 | 2:10 p.m.- 2:20 p.m. | S4-SSNR02-8 | Room E350
MRI can help identify early individuals at risk of brain dysfunction, according to this scientific presentation.
On-scanner cardiac MR model enables point-of-acquisition AI
Sunday, November 29 | 2:30 p.m.- 2:40 p.m. | S5-SSCA02-1 | Room E353C
Researchers will describe how AI could improve cardiac MRI exam efficiency, standardize interpretation, and expand patient access.
Cardiac MRI appears safe for patients with implantable electronic devices
Sunday, November 29 | 2:50 p.m.- 3:00 p.m. | S5-SSCA02-2 | Room E353C
MRI in patients with cardiac implantable electronic devices was associated with a very low rate of adverse events and no permanent device failures, researchers have found.
AI-assisted prostate MRI interpretation boosts reader cancer detection
Monday, November 30 | 9:10 a.m.- 9:20 p.m. | M1-SSGU02-8 | Room E353B
Researchers have found that AI-assisted prostate MRI interpretation can improve readers' cancer detection.
Use cardiac MRI phenotyping to assess pulmonary hypertension
Monday, November 30 | 2:30 p.m.- 2:40 p.m. | M6-SSCA03-7 | Room E352
Cardiac MRI-based phenotyping helps clinicians better evaluate intermediate-risk patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), according to this talk.
Are there brain differences between religious and non-religious people?
Monday, November 30 | 4:10 p.m.- 4:20 p.m. | M7-SSNR03-8 | Room E351
This Monday presentation will outline research that included both participants who identified as religious and those who did not.
Deep-learning improves 5-tesla MR resolution for prostate imaging
Tuesday, December 1 | 10:10 a.m.-10:20 a.m. | T3-SSGU03-7 | Room S502
Super-resolution 5-tesla MR imaging with deep-learning reconstruction (DLR) offers better image quality and quantitative results, according to this talk.
DL model reduces patient gadolinium exposure to 10% of standard dose
Tuesday, December 1 | 3:20 p.m.- 3:40 p.m. | T7-SSNR09-3 | Room E350
A deep-learning enhancement algorithm shows diagnostic equivalence to full-dose GBCA imaging with only 10% of the standard dose, researchers have found.
Fast MRI helps identify intracranial findings in pediatric ED
Tuesday, December 1 | 3:50 p.m.- 4:00 p.m. | T7-SSER01-6 | Room S406B
A 2.5-minute brain MRI protocol in the pediatric emergency department is comparable to standard MR imaging, according to this presentation.
Breath-hold fMRI helps identify sport-related subclinical cerebrovascular injury
Tuesday, December 1 | 4:10 p.m.- 4:20 p.m. | T7-SSNR08-8 | Room S502
Breath-hold fMRI offers a clinically feasible approach for detecting subclinical cerebrovascular injury in young athletes, researchers have found.
Can quantitative MRI help plan diffuse glioma treatment?
Wednesday, December 2 | 9:40 a.m.-9:50 a.m. | W3-SSNR10-2 | Room E350
Quantitative MRI used with deep-learning shows promise for glioma treatment staging, according to this presentation.
Cardiac MRI helps detect and characterize aortic stenosis
Wednesday, December 2 | 10:20 a.m.-10:30 a.m. | W3-SSCA07-6 | Room E353C
In mild-to-moderate aortic stenosis, combining cardiac MRI tissue characterization with selected plasma biomarkers detects myocardial remodeling, according to this study.
Tracking tissue magnetic susceptibility could detect brain changes
Wednesday, December 2 | 3:40 p.m.-3:50 p.m. | W7-SSNR12-5 | Room S502
In this scientific presentation, researchers will make the case for a role for quantitative susceptibility mapping as an imaging biomarker for late-life brain aging.
Cardiac MRI reveals manifestations of chronic high-altitude disease
Thursday, December 3 | 8:00 a.m.-8:10 a.m. | R1-SSCA09-1 | Room E353C
Researchers have found that individuals with chronic high-altitude disease show significantly increased right-ventricular volumes and reduced right ventricular ejection fraction.
MRI "instability ecosystem" map helps manage soccer knee injuries
Thursday, December 3 | 10:40 a.m.-10:50 a.m. | R3-SSMK10-8 | Room E450A
This talk will show that this kind of MRI mapping is a practical way to identify instability risk and assess the likelihood of surgery and the complexity of rehabilitation.
Tailored MRI could reduce ACTA2 vasculopathy-related stroke risk
Thursday, December 3 | 1:50 p.m.-2:00 p.m. | R6-SSNR15-3 | Room E350
MRI surveillance of pediatric pathogenic ACTA2 vasculopathy should be tailored to mitigate sedation-related stroke risk, according to this scientific presentation.
