A fully automated implant mode MRI scan workflow for asymptomatic patients.

Abstract

Motivation: Patients are often unaware of the presence and location of metal implants, which may be confirmed only after localizer scan, thus potentially disrupting workflow. Goal(s): To detect the presence of metal implant within the first few seconds of prescan and further characterize the location and shape of the metal from the calibration. Approach: Prescan data of phantom with metal screws and human volunteer with metallic implants were used. Results: The skewness of the center frequency signal is from 1.37 to 4.47 for implants, while for normal subjects, the signal is very symmetric and the calculated skewness is <0.3. Impact: Automated MR scanning workflow for the patients with implants to improve efficiency of the MR technologists.