title: Quantification of susceptibility artifacts produced on high-field magnetic resonance images by various biomaterials used for neurosurgical implants. Technical note.
abstract: Although various biomaterials such as ceramics or titanium alloy are widely used in neurosurgery, the susceptibility artifacts that appear around these materials cause problems when a magnetic resonance (MR) imager is used to assess lesions after surgery. The purpose of the present study was to quantify the susceptibility artifacts produced by various biomaterials used for neurosurgical implants. Using a 3-tesla MR imaging unit, we obtained MR images of various biomaterials, including six types of ceramics, a cobalt-based alloy (Elgiloy), pure titanium, a titanium alloy, and stainless steel. All implants shared a uniform size and shape. In each image, a linear region of interest was defined across the center of the biomaterial in the transverse direction, and the diameter of the susceptibility artifact was calculated. The ceramics produced a considerably smaller artifact diameter than those produced by other biomaterials. Among the types of ceramics, zirconia was found to produce the smallest artifact diameter. Among the remaining biomaterials, the diameters of the artifacts decreased in order from that associated with stainless steel to those associated with cobalt-based alloys, pure titanium, and titanium alloy. Little difference was observed between the artifact diameters associated with pure titanium and titanium alloy. Ceramics are the most suitable biomaterials for minimizing artifacts in high-field MR imaging.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Iwate Medical University, Morioka, Japan.
authors.forename: Hideki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Matsuura
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Inoue
authors.forename: Hiromu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Konno
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sasaki
authors.forename: Kuniaki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ogasawara
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ogawa
mesh_terms: D016477:Artifacts; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D003035:Cobalt; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000592:standards*; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D019736:Prostheses and Implants; D013193:Stainless Steel; D014025:Titanium
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D013193:Stainless Steel; D003035:Cobalt; D014025:Titanium