MRI undoubtedly plays an important role in the screening, staging, and treatment of prostate cancer. However, existing MRI techniques are limited by their sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis and staging of prostate cancer. The University of California, San Diego, and the University of California, Los Angeles, have jointly investigated a new technique that could improve the detection of prostate cancer and improve the identification of tumor features by imaging, possibly saving some patients from prostate surgery. MRI diffusion imaging can improve the sensitivity and specificity of standard enhancement MRI, but because it is susceptible to magnetic field artifacts, it cannot accurately localize tumors, said lead author Anders Dale. The new technique invented by the authors, also known as restricted spectrum imaging MRI (RSI-MRI), is an enhanced version of MRI diffusion imaging. It corrects the magnetic field aberrations of MRI and focuses on the diffusion phase components within the tumor cells. Rakow-Penner et al. compared the new technique, RSI-MRI, with standard MRI in detecting outward extension of prostate cancer. The study included 27 patients with prostate cancer who had not undergone radical resection. They found that standard MRI accurately detected 2 (of 9) patients with histologically confirmed pT3, while RSI-MRI detected 8 (of 9). In addition, Rakow-Penner and colleagues also found that RSI-MRI accurately detected the remaining 18 pT2 patients at the same time. In another study, these investigators found that RSI-MRI could predict tumor grade: the more restricted water volume in the nucleus, the higher the tumor grade. The article’s corresponding authors concluded that their findings suggest that RSI-MRI has a clear advantage in predicting tumor grade and has important implications for tumor surveillance. If indeed tumor grading can be predicted by imaging methods, it may allow some patients to be spared prostatectomy and tumor progression can be monitored by imaging.