Local $B₁⁺$ shimming improves visualization of the bone-metal interface in patients with orthopedic hardware

$B₁⁺$ field inhomogeneity is a source of metal artifacts in patients with orthopedic hardware. Local $$B₁⁺$ shimming can potentially decrease these artifacts and improve visualization of the bone-metal interface. Our proposed turbo-spin echo-based $$B₁⁺$ mapping technique enables accurate estimation of the $$B₁⁺$ field near the metal hardware. After optimization for in-vivo applications, the technique was successfully employed on a clinical 3.0 T parallel-transmit system aiming at $$B₁⁺$ shimming near the orthopedic hardware. Our results demonstrate significant improvement in visualization of the bone-metal interface compared to standard 1.5 and 3.0 T acquisitions.