Laura Jane King1, Rick Millane1, Hans Weber2, Brian Hargreaves2, and Phil Bones1
1Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand, 2Radiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States
Being able to perform robust Dixon imaging near metal
implants would allow for improved contrast-enhanced fat suppression. This
requires accurate calculation of the phase shift due to the B0 field variation.
We present a new technique where the phase is first estimated at the outer
edges of the image. The method works inwards along a set of adjacent paths,
finishing at the boundary of the implant. The described method is used to
successfully separate fat and water in the vicinity of a titanium hip
replacement, with phantom results shown.