Magnetic susceptibility artifact

Case contributed by Prashant Mudgal
Diagnosis not applicable

There is a large magnetic susceptibility artifact resulting in distortion and non-visualization of left anterior quadrant.

Case Discussion

Magnetic susceptibility artifact results from local magnetic field inhomogenecities. On examination it is revealed that the patient had applied some skin ointment (in the particular region of artifact) for a local skin lesion.

Some skin ointments contain cobalt and ferrous ions to reduce cutaneous photosensitivity. Both cobalt and ferrous ions are strong ferromagnetic material and known to cause susceptibility artifacts especially on SWI sequence.

How to use cases

You can use Radiopaedia cases in a variety of ways to help you learn and teach.

Creating your own cases is easy.

Updating… Please wait.

 Unable to process the form. Check for errors and try again.

 Thank you for updating your details.