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Artefacts Lecture PUBLIC
Artefacts Lecture PUBLIC
Kris Armoogum MSc Department of Medical Physics, Ninewells Hospital Dundee DD2 1QW Kris.Armoogum@tuht.scot.nhs.uk Stephen.Gandy@tuht.scot.nhs.uk 14th Scottish MRI Seminar, Wednesday 19th November 2003
Introduction
Artefacts are parts of reconstructed images that are not present in the true anatomy. Artefacts are dependent on a variety of factors from patient movement to magnetic field inhomogeneities. Artefacts can lead to misdiagnosis if they are not recognised and/or removed. Ideally, we want all image artefacts to be below the level of user's perception.
Main classifications -
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
1. Movement Artefacts
Motion Artefacts patient Flow artefact inflow/washout effect, diastole, systole, arterial flow Reducing flow artefacts Gradient Moment Nulling Respiratory compensation, triggering, ROPE, navigator echoes
NO FLOW
FLOW
90o pulse
180o pulse
No signal
S Phase Shift D
Diastole (filling phase), systole (emptying phase). Aortic ghosts in PE direction [because FE step (msec) takes much less time than a PE (sec) step] Physiological modulation
m o
MR Signal
FT
o-m o
o+m
Systolic-diastolic switching of the flow velocity (at frequency m) modulates the MR signal (with frequency ) Two frequency sidebands (upper and lower frequency sideband components) appear as ghosts either side of the primary image
Velocity profile laminar flow (Re < 2100) Velocity zero at wall, fastest at centre of lumen Continuous spread of velocities
+1
T -1
B
A = flow artefact from eye movement B = flow artefact from sagittal sinus
Distinguishable from Truncation artefact artefact propagates across the anatomy. Truncation artefact diminishes with distance from the high contrast boundary.
Flow from middle (A) cerebral arteries, (B) eye movement & sagittal sinus, and (C) salivary glands (swallowing)
Popliteal Artery
Popliteal artery flow generates artefacts across the femur. More prominent when fat suppression removes the marrow signal. May disturb interpretation of bone bruising or subchondral cysts.
o-max
o+max
MR Signal Complex modulation frequency, made up of many component waves FT results in a spread of upper and lower sidebands - artefact Worse for GE images, due to bright blood inflow effect SE dark blood inflow effect less severe phase artefacts
High bandwidth
+2G
Grad
2T 2T
-G
Grad
T T
-2G
Small
Use sequence with a high bandwidth shorter TE Amount of dephasing generally goes up with TE2 Shorter TE minimises velocity induced phase effects
+1
Stationary tissue (0o) unaffected Constant velocity blood (1o motion) rephased by +1-2+1 gradients Constant acceleration blood (2o) need 1+3-3+1 gradients to rephase Jerk motion (3o) need +1-4+6-4+1 gradients to rephase 2o flow comp 3o flow comp
+3 +1
Stationary tissue Constant velocity blood Constant acceleration blood
+6 +1 -4 -4 +1
-1 -3
Flow Compensation
Thoracic spine
Vertebral foramen
Two cords appear to be present in first T2W TSE image. The extra cord is flow artefact from pulsatile CSF flow. First order (+1-2+1 gradient) flow compensation (Gradient Moment Nulling) results in the RHS image.
Swallowing Motion
Cervical spine
S
CIV CV
A T
Any patient motion during a scan can cause PE artefacts (A-P above). Left image - artefact generated by patient swallowing during data acquisition - increased signal intensity in the spinal cord. Eliminated by applying presaturation RF pulses to the anatomy that was generating the artefact. Sat band visible on RHS image.
Respiratory Artefact
Periodic respiratory motion ghosting above and below the body
Remove by breathold imaging (<18sec scan time). Increase the NSA (anatomy SNR improved relative to ghosts). NSA 4 to 6 ~ respiratory compensation.
Respiratory Gating/Triggering
Bellows pressure = electrical trigger
Inhalation
Exhalation
Respiratory Compensation
Reduces respiratory artefact
K-space
+64 -64
Inhalation Exhalation
Navigator Echoes
Two slice selective directions and FE in the third direction (of motion). Small column of tissue excited across the diaphragm. Spin echo sequence acquires series 1D images of the diaphragm boundary over time. Stack images side-by-side - intensity difference between diaphragm and lung indicates respiratory motion. Navigator echo is interleaved within main scan sequence. Data for main image can then be adjusted for respiratory motion by using data acquired during specific range of diaphragm motion.
2. Geometrical Artefacts
Phase wrap Partial volume Cross talk Magic Angle artefact
+200o = -160o
180o
-180o -160o
+180o +200o
EQUIVALENT
Cross Talk
Perfect RF pulse is a sinc function (FT = top hat) Real RF pulse is a truncated sinc (FT = top hat with rounded edges) Inter-slice cross talk could cause increased T1 weighting and reduced SNR.
PE2
SLICE 2
90o 180o
PE2
SLICE N
90o 180o
PE2
Typical TR for T1W scan = 600ms, typical TE = 20ms. Theoretically possible to acquire 30 slices within the TR. Cross talk region between slices 1 and 2 experiences RF excitation from slice 1, then slice 2. Effective TR is 20ms giving loss of signal due to lack of T1 recovery. Solution - interleave slices. A 3D sequence avoids the problem altogether contiguous slices.
10-20% interslice gap
At Magic Angle
3. Resolution/Sequence Artefacts
Truncation artefact Chemical Shift artefact (Types I and II)
Also known as Gibbs (ringing) artefact. Usually occurs in the PE direction at high contrast borders. Due to undersampling of high spatial frequencies (sharp edged borders) Remedied by taking more samples (e.g. 256 PE steps). Truncation artefact causes ring-down effect because F.T. of truncated sinc function has ripples at the edges.
F.T. t
CV
T1W image of lumbar spine. Low BW sequence used. Frequency shift of a few pixels is visible at the base of each vertebra (black line). Vertebra-disc boundary detail is lost at the top of each vertebra. Observation of small disc herniations in L spine difficult.
L III
L IV
Protons from different molecules (eg: fat & water) precess at different frequencies. Protons in H2O precess slightly faster than those in fat, (diff. is 3.5 ppm) Chemical shift = 3.5ppm = 224Hz at 1.5T [ 0 = .B0 :: (42.6MHz/T)(1.5T) :: 64MHz :: 3.5ppm x 64MHz = 224Hz ] LHS = 12.5kHz (low BW), 256 resolution. Chemical shift is 4.6 pixels [ 224 / (12.5kHz/256) ] Chemical shift also occurs between silicone & fat/water (Breast MRI) Modify CS by using fat suppression, increase the bandwidth, swap freq and phase directions, or lower the Bo field (impractical)!
In Phase
Worked example
Applies to Gradient Echo techniques, (not in SE because of 180 refocusing pulse). Fat and water proton resonant frequencies differ by 3.5ppm. For an imaging field strength of 1.5T, == 64 MHz (from 0 = .B0 ). Difference between fat and water proton resonant frequencies is therefore about 224 Hz, ( diff ). The phase of the fat and water spin vectors will thus coincide at 1/diff, which is 4.6 ms. If a TE of 4.6 ms is used, then the fat and water components of the signal will be in phase. If a TE of 6.9 ms (4.6 + 2.3) is used then the fat and water components of the signal will be out of phase.
W o
4.6ms WF F 2.3ms W
Phase cancellation artefact gradient echo sequences Water precesses slightly faster than fat (phase difference between them) Phase differences accumulate between water and fat signal Vary the TE, f+W (in phase), f-w (out of phase black boundary artefact) At 1.5T, f-w occurs in 4.6ms multiples, starting at about 2.3ms (then 6.9, 11.5, 16.1 ms) - artefact At 1.5T, f+w occurs at 4.6ms (then 9.2, 13.8, 18.4 ms) no artefact Dixon technique ip+op images = water image, ip-op = fat image The artefact can occur in both encoding directions Not a problem in SE images since 180o pulse refocuses chemical shift
4. Bo Artefacts
Susceptibility artefacts Metallic artefacts Bo Inhomogeneity
Susceptibility Artefacts
Occur when two materials with different magnetic susceptibility () lie together, (tissue-air & tissue-fat). Local Bo changes cause spin dephasing at the boundary causing signal loss. Haemosiderin (end stage of haemorrhage) deposits (high ) local susceptibility changes in tissue. Susceptibility artefacts can be useful - bony trabeculae (low ). Use a FSE and keep TE short to minimise susceptibility artefacts.
Metallic Artefacts
Similar to susceptibility artefacts. Metals have much higher susceptibility than tissue. Large Bo inhomogeneities around object causing signal loss and distortion. Implants absorb RF energy, so local field varies. RF problems affect SE sequences as well as GE.
Metallic Artefact
Unsuccessful Fat suppression in T2W breast images. Result of poor Bo field homogeneity. Artefacts arise because of inability to distinguish fat and water frequencies locally. Usually more prominent in images with a large FOV or off-axis. Solution improve the magnet shimming. Modern magnets auto shimming for very reliable fatsat.
5. RF Artefacts
Ghosting RF interference Stimulated Echoes RF Coil artefacts Steady State artefacts
Ghosting
Arises from any structure that moves during acquisition of data eg: chest wall, pulsatile movement of vessels, swallowing etc.) Ghosts displaced along PE axis due to inherent time delay between phase encoding and readout. Number and intensity depends upon period of modulation and the TR.
Inhalation Exhalation B A P1 P2
Chest wall
Quadrature Ghost
Occurs due to differences in the gain of real and imaginary receiver channels Phase errors between the two quadrature RF receive channels can also cause this Ghost is displaced diagonally across the centre in both PE and FE directions Solution - ? phase alternating
RF Interference
Zipper artefact appears as bright and dark zipper lines along PE. External RF picked up by coils (e.g RF breakthrough waveguide filters). Pulse oximeters (monitors the percentage of haemoglobin saturated with oxygen) use RF can be picked up by MR coils. RF from within the MR system may be coherent bright spot on image. Mains RF modulated by 50Hz regularly spaced faint zipper artefacts across image.
RF breakthrough
Zipper artefact
Herring-Bone Artefact
Occurs due to the presence of a spike of noise (or an arc from a static discharge) in the raw data. FT (series of spikes) which is convolved with the image data. Probably due to breakdown of RF system (poor RF decoupling). Best solution rescan the image.
Halo Artefact
Results from signal clipping caused by overflow on the ADCs. Occurs if receiver gain is incorrectly set. Signal becomes too large for the ADC range and information in the centre of k-space is lost. Unusual - unless receiver gain is manually set.
z x y
Lag
y
Lead
Stim Echo
1st pulse forms transverse magnetisation 2nd pulse remaining transverse components form Hahn echo 3rd pulse converts longitudinal magnetisation to transverse magnetisation, and components re-phase to form stimulated echo
H
SHOULDER
STE
STE has different spatial encoding and contrast Avoid STE by using spoiler gradients to destroy residual transverse magnetisation, or use rewinder gradients to prevent the STE occurring in the sampling window Can also widen the bandwidth, or alter the TE to avoid STE
RF Coil Artefacts
One of the arrays of a phased array coil is out of phase with the other coils. Bands of signal addition and cancellation. Solution call engineer!
Sagittal Pelvis
The result of signal saturation at edge of surface coil. Optimal signal is further in from edge. Solution Surface Coil Intensity Correction (SCIC) algorithm that reduces the high intensity fat signal nearest the coil for improved visualisation. SCIC is very useful for correcting sagittal and axial spine images.
Moire Fringes
Common on True FISP, balanced FFE, FIESTA (fully balanced gradients). Related to variation of steady state condition due to Bo inhomogeneities. Aliasing of one side of the body to the other results in superimposition of signals of different phases that alternatively add and cancel. Equivalent to introducing a systematic error to the flip angle. Require a short TE and good shimming otherwise bands ~ 1/B0 Solution phase alternation of RF pulse
Noise
Random Noise
Noise can be considered an artefact since it is unwanted. Grainy, snowy, no recognisable pattern. Solution improve the SNR Increase slice thickness, increase TR, reduce TE, decrease bandwidth, decrease pixel resolution, increase the FOV, increase phase steps, increase the number of averages Remember trade-offs (scan time [2D] = TR x NY x NEX).
And finally
Observer Artefact
Self explanatory Otherwise known as Upside-down Error Solution apply for time off !
References
MRI from Picture to Proton: Donald W. McRobbie, Elizabeth A.Moore, Martin J.Graves and Martin R.Prince Cambs Uni Press All you need to know about MRI Physics: Moriel NessAiver For further information Kris.Armoogum@tuht.scot.nhs.uk Stephen.Gandy@tuht.scot.nhs.uk