The RODEO Breast MRI procedure is performed with the patient lying on her stomach on a special table, with the breast to be imaged hanging freely through an opening in a cushioned wedge-shaped device called a dedicated breast coil. This device contains signal transmitters and receivers for the radio frequencies used in MRI. There is no compression of the breast. Once she is comfortably positioned, the table is moved, feet first, into the magnet. She will be given earplugs to diminish the sounds of the imager, and will be reminded to lie very still so that consistent images will be obtained.

After a series of three preliminary images are acquired, a scan through all of the breast tissue will be done. This takes approximately five minutes. After these images are completed and evaluated for technical quality, the patient will be given an injection of the contrast agent used for MRI studies, called Gadolinium. Then, another series of images of all the breast tissue will be obtained. The entire study will take approximately thirty minutes.

Malignant breast tumors begin growing their own blood supply network once they reach a certain size. This is the only way the cancer can continue to grow. Because of this increase in the blood-carrying vessels, tumors will "light up" or appear very bright on the images obtained after a contrast agent has been injected. This increased brightness is called enhancement. Use of the contrast agent is what makes RODEO Breast MRI so much more sensitive and specific than mammography.

(left) MRI before contrast agent is administered (right) MRI with contrast agent, enhancement of cancer

After a few minutes, the contrast agent spreads into the rest of the breast tissue, so there is a very short time available to capture the information following the injection of the contrast agent. Dr. Harms or his colleagues will evaluate the features of the enhancement seen on the images to determine if there is evidence of breast cancer. If cancer is present, further analysis will be done to measure the exact size of the area involved, and if more than one area of disease is present.

The FDA approved Gadolinium in 1988 for use in adults and children. It is considered safe, with the most common side effects being headache, nausea, or a burning sensation at the injection site. It is very rare (less than 1 in 1000) for a patient to be allergic to Gadolinium.

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