Image quality assessments according to the angle of tilt of a flex tilt coil supporting device: An ACR phantom study

Abstract

In this study, we assessed how image quality depends on the angle of tilt of a flex tilt coil supporting device during an MRI examination. All measurements were performed with an American College of Radiology (ACR) MRI phantom using a flex tilt coil supporting device. All images were analyzed using an automatic assessment method following the ACR MRI accreditation guidance. Image quality was compared between acquisitions grouped according to the angle of tilt of the coil supporting device: group A (Flat mode), group B (10˚), and group C (18˚). All measured image qualities were within the ACR recommended criteria, regardless of the angle of tilt of the flex tilt coil supporting device. However, statistically significant differences between the three groups were found for slice thickness, position accuracy, image intensity uniformity, and SNR (P < 0.05, ANOVA). The flex tilt coil supporting device can provide sufficient image quality, passing the criteria of the ACR MRI guideline, despite differences in slice thickness, slice position accuracy, image intensity uniformity, and SNR according to the angle of tilt.