The development of equipment for the technical assessment of respiratory motion induced artefacts in MRI.

A device and technique to study the effects of respiratory motion on the quality of magnetic resonance images is proposed. The construction of the device enables a variety of test objects to be mounted and used in the evaluation of imaging parameters that may be affected by motion. The equipment is constructed of cast acrylic and the movement is actuated and controlled pneumatically thus ensuring that there are no interactions with the magnetic field and radiofrequency detection system to cause further image artefacts. Separate studies have been performed, using ultrasound, to assess the degree and rate of movement of organs owing to respiration in order to derive the motion parameters for the apparatus. Preliminary results indicate that the technique produces motion induced artefacts simulating those which are the result of the effects of respiration.