ABSTRACT
-The magnetic susceptibility artifact created by the hardware that is a mainstay of
today's surgical techniques can complicate magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of the
postoperative spine. This article reviews the physical principles that underlie production
of the magnetic susceptibility artifact, as well as the imaging parameters that can
be altered to reduce artifact and improve visualization of the areas of concern. Those
imaging parameters that most greatly affect artifact production are the strength of
the ambient magnetic field, the type of sequence chosen, echo time, the strength and
orientation of the frequency encoding gradient, the resolution along the frequency
encoding axis as determined by field of view (FOV) and the number of pixels in the
frequency encoding direction, the orientation of the hardware to the main magnetic
field, the section thickness, and the orientation of the imaging plane.
KEYWORD
Hardware - postoperative - spine
