A Comparison of Local SAR Using Individual Patient Data and a Patient Template

Stefanie Buchenau¹, Martin Haas¹, Juergen Hennig¹, Maxim Zaitsev¹

The aim of this work was to investigate the error that is introduced to SAR by erroneous information on the electric properties distribution of the individual patient. The standard FDTD method and a second method that uses measured B1 data to calculate electric fields were compared. It could be shown that the SAR distribution calculated for a patient template by FDTD method can fail due to slight differences in anatomy. In comparison the second method preserves the basic characteristics of this distribution if a homogeneous tissue is assumed. An appropriate choice of its electrical properties simulates a worst case scenario.