MR imaging artifacts that simulate disease: how to recognize and eliminate them

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Radiology
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

Background:

• Image artifacts can mimic pathological conditions in magnetic resonance (MR) imaging.
• Motion artifacts frequently impact thoracic and abdominal MR images.
• Familiarity with artifact causes is essential for accurate MR image interpretation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To elucidate common artifacts encountered in magnetic resonance (MR) imaging.
• To describe the underlying causes and characteristics of various MR imaging artifacts.
• To outline strategies for mitigating or eliminating these artifacts to improve diagnostic accuracy.

Main Methods:

• Review of common magnetic resonance (MR) imaging artifacts, including motion, aliasing, truncation, chemical shift, and magnetic susceptibility.
• Description of techniques for artifact reduction, such as gating, k-space manipulation, field of view adjustment, and specific pulse sequences.
• Explanation of factors influencing artifact severity, including imaging parameters and hardware configurations.

Main Results:

• Motion artifacts can be reduced using techniques like respiratory/cardiac gating and gradient moment nulling.
• Aliasing artifacts are addressed by adjusting the field of view, oversampling, or employing saturation pulses.
• Truncation, chemical shift, and magnetic susceptibility artifacts have distinct causes and mitigation approaches.

Conclusions:

• Recognizing and understanding the origins of common MR imaging artifacts is vital for accurate interpretation.
• Implementing appropriate artifact reduction techniques enhances the diagnostic quality of MR images.
• Knowledge of artifact appearances aids in avoiding diagnostic pitfalls in clinical practice.