T2 FLAIR artifacts at 3-T brain magnetic resonance imaging

Eleftherios Lavdas; Ioannis Tsougos; Stella Kogia; Georgios Gratsias; Patricia Svolos; Violetta Roka; Ioannis V Fezoulidis; Eftychia Kapsalaki

doi:10.1016/j.clinimag.2013.10.004

T2 FLAIR artifacts at 3-T brain magnetic resonance imaging

Clin Imaging. 2014 Mar-Apr;38(2):85-90. doi: 10.1016/j.clinimag.2013.10.004. Epub 2013 Nov 7.

Authors

Eleftherios Lavdas¹, Ioannis Tsougos², Stella Kogia³, Georgios Gratsias³, Patricia Svolos⁴, Violetta Roka⁵, Ioannis V Fezoulidis³, Eftychia Kapsalaki³

Affiliations

¹ Technological Educational Institute of Athens, Radiology Department, Athens, Greece.
² Department of Medical Physics, University Hospital of Larissa, Medical, School of Thessaly, Biopolis, Greece. Electronic address: tsougos@med.uth.gr.
³ Department of Radiology, University Hospital of Larissa, Medical School of Thessaly, Biopolis, Greece.
⁴ Department of Medical Physics, University Hospital of Larissa, Medical, School of Thessaly, Biopolis, Greece.
⁵ Farkadona, Medical Center, Trikala, Greece.

PMID: 24359643
DOI: 10.1016/j.clinimag.2013.10.004

Abstract

The purpose of this retrospective clinical study was to identify and evaluate the presence and frequency of T2 FLAIR artifacts on brain MRI studies performed at 3 T. We reviewed axial T2 FLAIR images in 200 consecutive unremarkable brain MRI studies performed at 3 T. All studies were reviewed for the presence of artifacts caused by pulsatile CSF flow, magnetic susceptibility and no nulling of the CSF signal. T2 FLAIR images introduce several artifacts that may degrade image quality and mimic pathology. Knowledge of these artifacts and increased severity and frequency at 3 T is of particular importance in avoiding a misdiagnosis.

Keywords: Artifacts; Brain; MRI; T2 flair.

MeSH terms

Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Artifacts
Brain / pathology
Cerebrospinal Fluid
Female
Humans
Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / methods*
Magnetic Resonance Imaging*
Male
Middle Aged
Pulsatile Flow
Retrospective Studies
Signal-To-Noise Ratio
Young Adult