MRI of spinal hardware: comparison of conventional T1-weighted sequence with a new metal artifact reduction sequence.
OBJECTIVE
This study was designed to compare diagnostic quality of MR images of patients with spinal hardware acquired using a conventional T1-weighted spin-echo sequence and a new metal artifact reduction sequence (MARS).


CONCLUSIONS
The new MARS sequence effectively reduces the degree of tissue-obscuring artifact produced by spinal fixation hardware and subjectively improves image quality compared with the conventional T1-weighted spin-echo sequence.
Chang
S D
SD
Department of Radiology, Vancouver General Hospital, 899 West 12th Avenue, Vancouver, BC, Canada V5Z 1M9.
Lee
M J
MJ
Munk
P L
PL
Janzen
D L
DL
MacKay
A
A
Xiang
Q S
QS
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016477:Artifacts; D006801:Humans; D016268:Internal Fixators; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008670:Metals; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013131:Spine / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery*
D008670:Metals