Development of a novel breast MRI phantom for quality control

Area of Science:

• Radiology
• Medical Imaging
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Breast MRI is crucial for detecting preinvasive breast cancer in high-risk individuals.
• Existing quality control phantoms are available for mammography and ultrasound, but not for breast MRI.
• The increasing use of breast MRI necessitates standardized quality control measures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel breast MRI phantom for quality control.
• To establish reproducible measurements for breast MRI quality assurance.

Main Methods:

• A dual-cavity phantom (water and fat) with a resolution plate (1-20 mm shapes) was created.
• Twenty MRI scans were performed using a 1.5-T system with STIR, T1-weighted fat-suppressed, and T2-weighted sequences.
• Key parameters measured included relaxation times, resolved shapes, and circle diameter.

Main Results:

• Relaxation times for fat and water were recorded on STIR and T2-weighted images.
• Resolution of 3 mm steps was achieved in 95% of STIR images and 100% of T2-weighted images.
• A 20 mm circle was accurately measured at 19±0.3 mm on T1-weighted fat-suppressed images.

Conclusions:

• The developed breast MRI phantom facilitates reproducible measurements.
• This phantom enables the implementation of essential quality control for breast MRI.
• It supports the growing clinical importance and application of breast MRI.