Im. Burtscher et al., ANEURYSM CLIP MR ARTIFACTS - TITANIUM VERSUS STAINLESS-STEEL AND INFLUENCE OF IMAGING PARAMETERS, Acta radiologica, 39(1), 1998, pp. 70-76
Purpose. The aim of this study was to evaluate the extent to which tit
anium aneurysm clips could improve the quality of MR imaging compared
with stainless steel clips, and to determine whether the clip artifact
s could be reduced by controlling certain MR imaging parameters in fre
quently used pulse sequences. Material and Methods. The metal artifact
s induced by 3 aneurysm clips were compared in 3 pulse sequences. The
clips were: a Yasargil titanium aneurysm clip FT 752 T; a Yasargil sta
ndard aneurysm clip FE 752 K; and, for comparison. a ferromagnetic Sco
ville aneurysm clip En-58J. The pulse sequences were: spin echo (SE);
gradient echo (GE); and fast SE. An evaluation was made of 3 imaging p
arameters with regard to their influence on the size of the metal arti
facts. The parameters were: bandwidth; echo time (TE); and echo-train
length. Results: The titanium clip showed artifacts that were about 60
% smaller than those from the stainless steel clip. The only parameter
that influenced artifact size to any major degree was bandwidth in th
e SE sequences but not in the GE sequences. GE sequences induced large
r artifacts than SE sequences and showed larger artifacts with longer
TE. Conclusion: Titanium aneurysm clips reduced MR artifacts by approx
imately 60% compared to stainless steel clips. Artifacts were further
reduced by using SE-based sequences with a high bandwidth or, if neces
sary, GE sequences with a low TE.