IMPROVING BODY MR IMAGE QUALITY
FIELD OF VIEW
One of the simplest ways to improve body MRI image quality is to optimze the FOV to the anatomy of concern.
INCORRECT FOV IMAGES IN BODY MR ARE OFTEN NONDIAGNOSTIC!
REMEMBER: Voxel size = FOV / Matrix size. The smaller the voxel, the better the resolution.
Smaller voxel size = DECREASED signal to noise
Using a small FOV decreases signal, which is regained by adding phase oversampling. Phase oversampling increases signal by increasing the number of phase encoding steps, just like using the larger FOV but with increased resolution.
INCORRECT
CORRECT
PROBLEM: The FOV is too large. The area of concern (abdomen) is too small, and even the arms are included on the images.
This is often a result of a preset FOV in the scanner with a relatively small patient on the table.
SOLUTION: Decrease FOV, use rectangular FOV to cover relevant anatomy. Add oversampling to avoid wrap and retain signal.
Tailor images to answer the clinical question.
