Assessing Scanner Changes after Major Repairs using Traceable Phantoms from the NIST/NIBIB Lending Library

We demonstrate the utility of periodic use of standard phantoms to assess changes in MRI scanner performance after unexpected major repairs. We present characterization of a 3T scanner before and after an unexpected gradient failure and replacement using a traceable system phantom and an isotropic diffusion phantom from the NIST/NIBIB Medical Phantom Lending Library. No major changes were observed in gradient calibration, geometric distortion, imaging uniformity, and resolution. Post-repair improvements were noted in SNR, relaxation time, water diffusivity measurements, although both pre and post-repair data were acceptable.