Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 16, 2026
Performing Intracochlear Electrocochleography During Cochlear Implantation
Published on: March 8, 2022
Magnetic Resonance Imaging at 1.5 Tesla With a Cochlear Implant Magnet in Place: Image Quality and Usability
Jeffrey D Sharon1, Benjamin G Northcutt, Nafi Aygun
1*Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery †Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.
Objective:
To study the quality and usability of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) obtained with a cochlear implant magnet in situ.
Study Design:
Retrospective chart review.
Setting:
Tertiary care center.
Patients:
All patients who underwent brain MRI with a cochlear implant magnet in situ from 2007 to 2016.
Intervention(S):
None.
Main Outcome Measure(S):
Grade of view of the ipsilateral internal auditory canal (IAC) and cerebellopontine angle (CPA).
Results:
Inclusion criteria were met by 765 image sequences in 57 MRI brain scans. For the ipsilateral IAC, significant predictors of a grade 1 (normal) view included: absence of fat saturation algorithm (p = 0.001), nonaxial plane of imaging (p = 0.01), and contrast administration (p = 0.001). For the ipsilateral CPA, significant predictors of a grade 1 view included: absence of fat saturation algorithm (p = 0.001), high-resolution images (p = 0.001), and nonaxial plane of imaging (p = 0.001). Overall, coronal T1 high-resolution images produced the highest percentage of grade 1 views (89%). Fat saturation also caused a secondary ring-shaped distortion artifact, which impaired the view of the contralateral CPA 52.7% of the time, and the contralateral IAC 42.8% of the time. MRI scans without any usable (grade 1) sequences had fewer overall sequences (N = 4.3) than scans with at least one usable sequence (N = 7.1, p = 0.001).
Conclusion:
MRI image quality with a cochlear implant magnet in situ depends on several factors, which can be modified to maximize image quality in this unique patient population.
