What are ghosting artefacts primarily caused by?

Ghosting artifacts in MRI are primarily caused by patient and physiological motion during imaging. When a patient moves or there are involuntary movements, such as breathing or pulsation from the heart, it can disrupt the uniformity of the magnetic field and the timing of the image acquisition. This disruption leads to duplicates or "ghosts" of the images appearing at regular intervals on the MRI scans, creating a distorted view.

This phenomenon highlights the critical role that patient compliance plays in obtaining high-quality images. Careful instruction provided to patients to remain still, as well as utilizing techniques to minimize movement and synchronize imaging with physiological activity (like respiratory triggering), can help reduce these artifacts. Understanding this cause is vital for technologists to take proactive measures during the imaging process to improve the quality of MRI results.