Abstract
Purpose:
To evaluate a novel soft, lightweight cushion that can match the magnetic susceptibility of human tissue. The magnetic susceptibility difference between air and tissue produces field inhomogeneities in the B~0~ field, which leads to susceptibility artifacts in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies.
Materials and Methods:
Pyrolytic graphite (PG) microparticles were uniformly embedded into a foam cushion to reduce or eliminate field inhomogeneities at accessible air and tissue interfaces. 3T MR images and field maps of an air/water/PG foam phantom were acquired. Q measurements on a 4T tuned head coil and pulse sequence heating tests at 3T were also performed.
Results:
The PG foam improved susceptibility matching, reduced the field perturbations in phantoms, does not heat, and is nonconductive.
Conclusion:
The susceptibility matched PG foam is lightweight, safe for patient use, adds no noise or MRI artifacts, is compatible with radiofrequency coil arrays, and improves B~0~ homogeneity, which enables more robust MR studies. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2010;32:684–691. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.