TY - JOUR
T1 - A standard system phantom for magnetic resonance imaging
AU - Stupic, Karl F.
AU - Ainslie, Maureen
AU - Boss, Michael A.
AU - Charles, Cecil
AU - Dienstfrey, Andrew M.
AU - Evelhoch, Jeffrey L.
AU - Finn, Paul
AU - Gimbutas, Zydrunas
AU - Gunter, Jeffrey L.
AU - Hill, Derek L.G.
AU - Jack, Clifford R.
AU - Jackson, Edward F.
AU - Karaulanov, Todor
AU - Keenan, Kathryn E.
AU - Liu, Guoying
AU - Martin, Michele N.
AU - Prasad, Pottumarthi V.
AU - Rentz, Nikki S.
AU - Yuan, Chun
AU - Russek, Stephen E.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors thank Michael Snow and William Hollander at High Precision Devices for the computer aided design and manufacturing guidance. The authors also thank Elizabeth Mirowski from Verellium and Joshua Levy from Phantom Labs for useful discussions on phantom design and implementation. The authors also thank all the ISMRM SQMR committee members, past and present, for their advice and support. This paper is dedicated to Larry Clarke, NCI Branch Chief, who helped initiate and champion this work and many other quantitative imaging programs over the past 2 decades.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Authors. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.
PY - 2021/9
Y1 - 2021/9
N2 - Purpose: A standard MRI system phantom has been designed and fabricated to assess scanner performance, stability, comparability and assess the accuracy of quantitative relaxation time imaging. The phantom is unique in having traceability to the International System of Units, a high level of precision, and monitoring by a national metrology institute. Here, we describe the phantom design, construction, imaging protocols, and measurement of geometric distortion, resolution, slice profile, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), proton-spin relaxation times, image uniformity and proton density. Methods: The system phantom, designed by the International Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine ad hoc committee on Standards for Quantitative MR, is a 200 mm spherical structure that contains a 57-element fiducial array; two relaxation time arrays; a proton density/SNR array; resolution and slice-profile insets. Standard imaging protocols are presented, which provide rapid assessment of geometric distortion, image uniformity, T1 and T2 mapping, image resolution, slice profile, and SNR. Results: Fiducial array analysis gives assessment of intrinsic geometric distortions, which can vary considerably between scanners and correction techniques. This analysis also measures scanner/coil image uniformity, spatial calibration accuracy, and local volume distortion. An advanced resolution analysis gives both scanner and protocol contributions. SNR analysis gives both temporal and spatial contributions. Conclusions: A standard system phantom is useful for characterization of scanner performance, monitoring a scanner over time, and to compare different scanners. This type of calibration structure is useful for quality assurance, benchmarking quantitative MRI protocols, and to transition MRI from a qualitative imaging technique to a precise metrology with documented accuracy and uncertainty.
AB - Purpose: A standard MRI system phantom has been designed and fabricated to assess scanner performance, stability, comparability and assess the accuracy of quantitative relaxation time imaging. The phantom is unique in having traceability to the International System of Units, a high level of precision, and monitoring by a national metrology institute. Here, we describe the phantom design, construction, imaging protocols, and measurement of geometric distortion, resolution, slice profile, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), proton-spin relaxation times, image uniformity and proton density. Methods: The system phantom, designed by the International Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine ad hoc committee on Standards for Quantitative MR, is a 200 mm spherical structure that contains a 57-element fiducial array; two relaxation time arrays; a proton density/SNR array; resolution and slice-profile insets. Standard imaging protocols are presented, which provide rapid assessment of geometric distortion, image uniformity, T1 and T2 mapping, image resolution, slice profile, and SNR. Results: Fiducial array analysis gives assessment of intrinsic geometric distortions, which can vary considerably between scanners and correction techniques. This analysis also measures scanner/coil image uniformity, spatial calibration accuracy, and local volume distortion. An advanced resolution analysis gives both scanner and protocol contributions. SNR analysis gives both temporal and spatial contributions. Conclusions: A standard system phantom is useful for characterization of scanner performance, monitoring a scanner over time, and to compare different scanners. This type of calibration structure is useful for quality assurance, benchmarking quantitative MRI protocols, and to transition MRI from a qualitative imaging technique to a precise metrology with documented accuracy and uncertainty.
KW - MRI standards
KW - phantom
KW - quality assurance
KW - quantitative MRI
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U2 - 10.1002/mrm.28779
DO - 10.1002/mrm.28779
M3 - Review article
C2 - 33847012
AN - SCOPUS:85104259079
SN - 0740-3194
VL - 86
SP - 1194
EP - 1211
JO - Magnetic Resonance in Medicine
JF - Magnetic Resonance in Medicine
IS - 3
ER -