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A Standard System Phantom for Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Published

Author(s)

Maureen Ainslie, Michael A. Boss, Cecil Charles, Laurence Clarke, Jeffrey L. Evelhoch, Paul Finn, Derek L. Hill, Kathryn Keenan, Guoying Liu, Karl Stupic, Chun Yuan, Michele Martin, Maureen Ainslie, Nikki Rentz

Abstract

A standard MRI system phantom has been designed and fabricated to assess scanner performance, scanner stability, scanner inter-comparability and accuracy of quantitative relaxation time imaging. The phantom is unique in having SI-traceability, a high level of precision, and long- term stability monitoring by a national metrology institute. Here we describe the phantom design, construction, and imaging protocols. The system phantom is designed to determine accuracy of many parameters including geometric distortion, resolution, slice profile, proton spin relation times, B1 distortion and proton density. This type of calibration structure is required to transition MRI from a qualitative imaging technique to a precise metrology with documented accuracy and uncertainty.
Citation
Magnetic Resonance in Medicine
Volume
86

Keywords

MRI, Quantitative MRI, Quality Assurance, MRI Standards

Citation

Ainslie, M. , Boss, M. , Charles, C. , Clarke, L. , Evelhoch, J. , Finn, P. , Hill, D. , Keenan, K. , Liu, G. , Stupic, K. , Yuan, C. , Martin, M. , Ainslie, M. and Rentz, N. (2021), A Standard System Phantom for Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, [online], https://doi.org/10.1002/mrm.28779, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=927349 (Accessed October 6, 2025)

Issues

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Created April 13, 2021, Updated September 29, 2025
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