Experimental and computational analyses of the effects of slice distortion from a metallic sphere in an MRI phantom

Susceptibility artifacts due to metallic prostheses are a major problem in clinical magnetic resonance imaging. We theoretically and experimentally analyze slice distortion arising from susceptibility differences in a phantom consisting of a stainless steel ball bearing embedded in agarose gel. To relate the observed image artifacts to slice distortion, we simulate images produced by 2D and 3D spin-echo (SE) and a view angle tilting (VAT) sequence. Two-dimensional SE sequences suffer from extreme slice distortion when a metal prosthesis is present, unlike 3D SE sequences for which — since slices are phase-encoded — distortion of the slice profile is minimized, provided the selected slab is larger than the region of interest. In a VAT sequence, artifacts are reduced by the application of a gradient along the slice direction during readout. However, VAT does not correct for the excitation slice profile, which results in the excitation of spins outside the desired slice location and can lead to incorrect anatomical information in MR images. We propose that the best sequences for imaging in the presence of a metal prosthesis utilize 3D acquisition, with phase encoding replacing slice selection to minimize slice distortion, combined with excitation and readout gradient strengths at their maximum values.