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Breast MR Imaging Artifacts: How to Recognize and Fix Them¹

¹ From the Department of Radiology, University of Virginia, PO Box 800170, Charlottesville, VA 22908 (J.A.H., J.M.C., B.T.N., B.T.B., M.A.C.); and Lynn Sage Comprehensive Breast Center, Northwestern University’s Feinberg Medical School and Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago, Ill (R.E.H.). Presented as an education exhibit at the 2006 RSNA Annual Meeting. Received March 12, 2007; revision requested April 5 and received May 3; accepted May 10. J.A.H. is a researcher with GE Healthcare, Wyeth, and Organon; R.E.H. is with the speakers’ bureau of GE Healthcare and a member of the medical advisory boards of BioLucent and Koning; all remaining authors have no financial relationships to disclose. Address correspondence to J.A.H. (e-mail: jah7w{at}virginia.edu).

Patient and technical factors may lead to unwanted artifacts at breast magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. Use of a properly functioning high-field-strength MR imaging system, a dedicated bilateral breast coil, and an optimal imaging protocol provides a solid framework for performing high-quality breast MR imaging. Problems related to breast positioning, selection of imaging volume, and phase-encoding direction can be overcome by training and providing feedback to MR imaging technologists. Common artifacts seen at breast MR imaging include motion, suboptimal fat suppression, metallic susceptibility, phase wrap, radiofrequency noise, and chemical shift. Once they are recognized, many of these artifacts can be corrected. Protocol monitoring and imaging-based feedback from the interpreting radiologist are essential for minimizing artifacts and optimizing breast MR imaging.

© RSNA, 2007