Artifacts are commonplace in MRI and may cause visualization challenges when reading tissue structures. Artifacts may be present as shadows, distortions, or voids within the imaging field and can be caused by a variety of phenomena, such as:
- Underlying physics of the energy-tissue interaction
- Data acquisition errors (e.g., patient movement during the test)
- Poor reconstructive algorithms (unable to properly represent the anatomy)
- Presence of metallic objects (orthopedic hardware, vascular ports, pacemakers).
Breast implants also commonly interfere with imaging examinations by creating shadows or voids that obscure some breast tissue as well and may cause complications in obtaining mammography of the entire breast.