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Updated: Apr 16, 2026
Diffusion Imaging in the Rat Cervical Spinal Cord
Published on: April 7, 2015
Towards an anthropomorphic MRI phantom mimicking static and dynamic B0 field variations in the human cervical spinal
Laura Beghini1, Brunnhilde M A-S Ponsi1,2,3, Kamilla Refsholt1
1Department of Physics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
Objective:
Spinal cord MRI is heavily affected by static and dynamic B0 field variations. The aim of this study was to develop an anthropomorphic cervical spine phantom that replicates these.
Materials And Methods:
The phantom consisted of a 3D-printed head-to-thorax shell containing 3D-printed vertebrae (C1-T1) in a water-based liquid solution. An external respiration system mimicked breathing-induced field fluctuations by moving metal staples over the phantom. The accuracy of the reproduced fields was evaluated at 7 T by field maps and multi-echo GREs acquired in the phantom and in four subjects.
Results:
Fourier-based field simulations confirmed the vertebrae to be the main contributors to the local static field in the spinal canal, providing a rationale for the phantom design. The 3D-printed vertebrae accurately reproduced the spatial field pattern encountered in vivo, but with one-third of the intensity due to lower susceptibility differences. The respiration system produced spatially and temporally similar dynamic field fluctuations as in vivo.
Discussion:
The phantom was designed to be low-cost, modular and reproducible, while also being non-toxic and free from biological hazards. It may serve as a useful tool for development and testing of correction strategies to address the persistent challenge of B0 field variations in spinal cord MRI.
