Urinary incontinence in aged women, related to female specific life events, such as pregnancy and child birth, is a common disorder injuring their quality of life. Subjective evaluation of urinary incontinence using a questionnaire is an important parameter, but objective parameters and medical imaging play more important roles considering adequate instructions and treatments. Among medical imaging modalities, ultrasonography is a convenient tool having a high temporal resolution, but, for detailed image observations of the pelvic floor, trans-peritoneal approach or intra-vaginal approach is often required. On the other hand, magnetic resonance(MR)imaging is free from ionizing irradiation and noninvasively shows detailed anatomical structures of the pelvic floor with high soft tissue contrasts. Dynamic study at rest, strain, and contraction is also available to show the changes in location and shape of the lower urinary tract. Especially, an open configuration MR system with a vertical gap, in which MR images of the pelvic floor in a sitting position can be acquired with gravity loads, will be a powerful tool to investigate urinary incontinence. It is strongly expected that such a noninvasive imaging modality is widely used in the nursing research field.
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