Predicting Field Distortions in the Human Brain Using a Susceptibility Model of the Head

Rebecca Sostheim¹, Julian Maclaren¹, Frederik Testud¹, Maxim Zaitsev¹

Susceptibility-induced field distortions in the human brain lead to image artifacts in MRI data, especially when motion of the head occurs. To predict and correct for these distortions using a susceptibility model it is necessary to accurately distinguish between bone and air, which is difficult in normal MRI images. In this work we compare two methods (a UTE-based method and an atlas-based method) of generating a head model that can be used to calculate the induced magnetic field. We show that it is sufficient to use a model that includes only the head and consists of only two susceptibility components.