IQTS

Image Quality Troubleshooting

Introduction
• This lecture discusses the types of
image quality problems that exist on
MR imagers.
• This lecture will also define the
appropriate method of isolating the
source of imaging problems.
Objectives
Upon completion the student will be able to:
To identify the six classic MR image artifacts.
To identify the four EPI image artifacts
To locate & use the proper troubleshooting flow
chart.
To select the proper tool to isolate the artifact cause.
To isolate & repair the root cause of artifact 50% of
the time.
Types of Classic Image Artifacts
• Corduroy
• Ghosting
• SNR
• Shading
• Zipper
• Geometric Distortion
EPI Image Artifacts
• Excessive Ghosting
• Slice to slice intensity variations
• Spike Noise Artifacts
• DWEPI Artifacts
Corduroy/White Pixel
• Most common artifact
• Corduroy refers to parallel line pattern
• Caused by bright areas in raw data
• Bright areas caused by arcing
• Rarely caused by digital receiver
• May appear different from image to image
• May be fine lines……..white pixels away from center of Kspace
• May envelope the image……white pixels near center of of Kspace
Corduroy/White Pixel

Fine
Corduroy Severe
White pixels occurred near
center of Kspace

EPT (White Pixel Test)

Spike Noise Check
Ghosting
• Ghosting/Phase Smearing
• Most common image quality complaints
• Multiple replicas of scanned object
• Along phase encoding axis
Vitamin E capsule (no ghosts)
• Or smeared across phase axis

Not do to Patient Motion Patient Motion Patient Motion

Ghosting Causes
• Motion of tissue - applications
• Hardware induced ghosting
• Shifts in echo center
• Shifts in constant phase
• Magnitude instabilities
• Many sources of instability, but the artifacts
look similar
Types of Instability
• Magnetic
• Affects B0 or gradients
• Affects Phase and Frequency Stability
• RF Transmit
• Affects B1 field
• Affects Magnitude and Phase Stability
• RF Receive
• Affects received echo or signal
• Affects Magnitude Stability
Low SNR
• Can be caused by anything internal or
external
• A few possible causes of low signal
• Coil detuning, preamp gain, decoupling
malfunction, loss of quadrature, TNF problem
• A few possible causes for increased noise
• Room noise, noisy preamp, noisy T/R switching
diodes
Typical descriptions of SNR
problems
• ‘grainy’, ‘mottled’, ‘noisy’, ‘don’t jump out at
me’,’ just not the way they used to be’, ‘not
crisp’
• May only be reported on one type of scan,
but may be affecting other scans
• SNR problems typically reported on low SNR
scans such as C-spine or Lumbar Axials
• Don’t prematurely isolate problem to one coil
• SNR problems may be a combination of a
number of marginal system parameters
Other things to consider
• Has there been a change in the customer
protocol?
• Compare with previous similar studies
• Use SNR Tool to determine the relative SNR
• Look at service history, what was serviced
last?
• Is the problem consistent or intermittent?
• Intermittent IQ issues may require multiple passes
of test to achieve confidence in the results
Shading
• Applications Issues
• Magnetic Inhomogeneity
• RF Inhomogeneity
Applications Issues
• Ferrous material on patient
• Unique Apps Issue
• Narrow BW scans sensitive to Mag Susceptibiity
• Gradient Echo scans sensitive to Mag
Susceptibility
• Patient positioned optimally
• Seen on older low pass body coils
• High pass body coils, Horizon to present are not
as sensitive to patient proximity to sides of coil
PERIPHERAL SIGNAL ARTIFACTS
(Annefact/Startifact)
• Peripheral signal artifacts can
appear as either a bright spot
or as a ribbon of signal
smeared through the image.
We sometimes refer to these
kinds of artifacts as Startifacts
(bright spot) or Annefacts
(ribbon). Basically both of
these artifacts have the same
root cause. Signals are
generated outside the desired
field of view (FOV) and the
receiver is able to detect them.
Annefact/Startifact
• One of the most common complaints
occurs during Sagittal (and Coronal)
spine scans using a 4-channel phase
array coil with Fast Spin Echo (FSE).
The artifact occurs when phase
encoding is in the S/I (Z-axis) direction
and No Phase Wrap is turned on. (The
reason for swapping phase and
frequency (SPF), to phase encode in
the S/I direction, is to reduce CSF flow
related artifacts. No Phase Wrap (NP)
is selected to prevent the anatomy,
which extends outside the Field of View
(FOV), from alaising back into the Workaroiund: By selecting the receive coils
image in the S/I direction.) This image that match the imaging FOV (i.e. LS45, LS56,
has both artifacts, a Startifact (oval) CS12, etc), you can lessen the likelihood of
and an Annefact (rectangle). picking up the peripheral signals that are
generated outside the field of view.
Magnetic Inhomogeneity
• Check system with LvShim
RF Inhomgeneity
• Is the shading in both body and head?
• Isolate to one mode
• Does TLT TR map fail?
• This can isolate to a DD board
• In body mode is shading at 45 degrees?
• This may show if I or Q has been lost to coil
Zipper Artifacts
• PSD related?
• Zipper travel across the phase axis.

Frequency
axis

A true zipper will always be perpendicular

to the frequency axis.
Zipper Artifacts
• Flow related.
• Does zipper occur with a phantom?
Zipper Artifacts
• Screen room RF leak?
• Is a signal close to the system frequency leaking
into the room?
Zipper Artifacts
• Scan room noise source?
• Anything electronic in the scan room.
SRI Clock Noise
Zipper Artifacts
• Computer room?
• Run a no RF scan per procedure.
• Run Correlated Noise Check
under Signa System Level Procedures.
System Crosstalk
• These are examples of raw data and an image from multiple
system sites with systems cross talking. This site has two
systems with center frequencies separated by about 32khz.
• Requires more than one system
• Requires system frequency separation within limits.
• Shielding integrity
Other Noise Artifacts
• Oscillating Preamps
Shim Bite Marks

The images of Example 1 and 1a are both Coronal images of the LV shim
phantom at a 48 FOV with identical scan parameters (including Fat-Sat).
Example 1a is the Active Shield magnet and its image displays the bite marks
on the edges of the phantom. (Both images also have wrap-around, left and
right.)
Geometric Distortion
• Patient Related
• mascara, jewelry, clothing, implants, etc.
• Image Display
• Image monitor or Filming camera
• Shim
• Shim supply
• Foreign metal
• Gradient Offset
• Gradient
• AMP, Coil, Cable, Calibration
• IPG, TYME
Geometric Distortion examples
EPI Image Artifacts
• Excessive Ghosting
• Verify EPI cal data with System Health
• EPI White Pixel passes?
• View Bandpass Asymmetry Plots
• Verify B0 Image for head coil
EPI Image Artifacts
• Slice to slice intensity variations (also “curved
SAT band” artifact)
• Verify psd RfWait and psd GradWait values.
• Verify Short Time Constant Eddy Current Comp.
• Verify cables and power.
• Shorted RF shield - check B0 Dither results

Effects of shorted RF
shield in Raw Data.
EPI Image Artifacts
• Spike Noise Artifacts
• Verify EPI White Pixel with EPT
EPI Image Artifacts
• DWEPI Artifacts
• Verify EPI White Pixel with EPT
• Pixel Voids
• Geometric Distortions
If the system is at Rev 8.5 the following tool is
available:
Diffusion Weighted Echo Planar Image Quality Tool
(DWEPIQ) SYSTSC6
This tool analyzes the eddy current effects of the
diffusion gradient pulse.

Examples of Pixel voids

and Geometric
Distortions. For more
information reference
Service Note 65043
 This Completes the Image
Quality Troubleshooting Module