Learning objectives
Acoustic noise in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the main source of discomfort for patients and leads to problems with verbal communication,
sedation difficulties and even hearing impairment.
Background
The so-called "silent" technology uses less gradient switching,
which is directly related to the noise level.
We will analyze,
through our experience,
this technique in neuroimaging with regard to the subjective and objective noise levels and the quality of the image.
Findings and procedure details
GE Healthcare and Siemens Healthcare recently launched silent "low noise" sequences known as SilentScan and QuietX respectively.
Most of the sequences have similar structures to conventional ones,
but use "milder" gradient waveforms with more progressive gradient rise and fall times.
These methods reduce the noise of an MRI sequence to less than 10 dB of ambient noise,
but result in a signal / noise penalty of about 10% due to shorter windows available for data sampling.
To achieve almost complete noise reduction,
a completely different...
Conclusion
In conclusion,
objective and subjective assessment of acoustic noise levels confirms reduced noise levels with Silent Scan and QuietX technology for slightly degraded image quality.
Special patient groups,
such as pediatric,
geriatric and non-cooperative patients,
should benefit from these so-called "silent" sequences to make MRI scans more user-friendly.
Personal information
Contact details: Mr TESSIER Anthony,MRISection.
Department of Radiology,
Hospital HIA Sainte-Anne,83000TOULON,
France.
Email:
[email protected]
References
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Assessment of Silent T1-weighted head imaging at 7T.
Eur Radiol 2015
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Sequence-based acoustic noise reduction of clinical MRI scans.
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Quiet T1-weighted imaging using PETRA: Initial clinical evaluation in intracranial tumor patients.
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5.Kaye EA,
et al.
Adapting MRI acoustic radiation force imaging forin vivohuman brain focused...