To investigate the artifacts produced by the cochlear implant (CI) CS-30A in nonimplanted human clinical trials under different magnetic resonance (MR) field strengths and imaging sequences.
Approach:
Participants: 12 healthy subjects underwent axial cranial MR scans at 1.5 T and 3.0 T field strengths using T1-weighted SE, T2-weighted FSE, and T2*-weighted GRE sequences.
Artifact Measurement: Maximum dimensions of CI artifacts were measured, and artifact areas were quantified using manual measurement and a deep learning-based automatic segmentation algorithm.
Evaluation: Radiologists evaluated the impact of CI artifacts on the visibility of brain anatomy.
Key Findings:
GRE sequences produced significantly larger artifact maximum dimensions and areas compared to SE and FSE sequences (p < 0.05).
No significant differences in maximum artifact dimensions were found between 1.5 T and 3.0 T MR across sequences (p > 0.05).
Artifact area measurements on SE sequences showed high consistency between manual and automatic segmentation methods (p = 0.377).
Interpretation:
GRE sequences should be avoided for CI recipients due to larger artifacts, while SE or FSE sequences are recommended.
Limitations:
The study was conducted on a small sample size of 12 healthy subjects.
Results may not be generalizable to all CI models or patients with varying conditions.
Conclusion:
SE or FSE sequences should be prioritized over GRE for CI recipients, and both 1.5 T and 3.0 T are clinically feasible.
