Computed Tomography Imaging Artifacts in the Head and Neck Region: Pitfalls and Solutions

Computed tomography (CT) artifacts are aberrations that usually degrade the image quality of CT images, but occasionally provide insights regarding actual imaging findings. The presence of artifacts can be attributed to various sources, including patient, scanner, and postprocessing factors. Artifacts can lead to diagnostic errors by obscuring findings or by being misinterpreted as actual lesions. This article reviews various types of CT artifacts that can be encountered in the head and neck region and explain how these artifacts may be mitigated. While we cannot fully eliminate the occurrence of CT artifacts, building an awareness of their cause provides reading physicians the tools to detect and read through their presence. Further, this knowledge may be applied to contribute to protocol adjustments to improve a site's overall imaging practice.