Subject grounding to reduce electromagnetic interference for MRI scanners operating in unshielded environments

Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, vol. 95, pp. 1289–1298

Abstract

PURPOSE: Portable low-field (<0.1T) MRI is increasingly used for point-of-care imaging, but electromagnetic interference (EMI) presents a significant challenge, especially in unshielded environments. EMI can degrade image quality and compromise diagnostic utility. This study investigates whether subject grounding can effectively reduce EMI and improve image quality, comparing different grounding strategies. METHODS: Experiments were conducted using a 47 mT Halbach-based MRI scanner with a single receive channel. Reproducibility was evaluated at a second site using a 72 mT scanner with similar geometry. Turbo spin echo sequences were used to image the hand and brain. Subject grounding was implemented using conductive cloth sleeves or electrocardiography (ECG) electrodes, each connected between the subject's skin and scanner ground. Three EMI conditions were tested: ambient, added single-frequency EMI, and broadband EMI. SNRs were calculated under each configuration. RESULTS: Subject grounding significantly reduced EMI in both hand and brain scans. In hand imaging, conductive sleeves reduced noise from 85× to 1.25× the 50-ohm noise floor. In brain imaging, grounding alone reduced noise from 55× to 25× baseline; when combined with arc RF shields, noise was further reduced to 1.2× baseline, even under added EMI. These results were reproducible across different scanners and locations. CONCLUSION: Subject grounding is a simple, effective, and reproducible strategy for mitigating EMI in portable low-field MRI. It is especially effective for hand imaging, while brain imaging benefits from additional RF shielding. The approach is robust under various EMI conditions and may complement other denoising techniques.

Authors 9

1. Beatrice Lena corresponding Aachen C.J. Gorter MRI Center

   Leiden University Medical Center

   Affiliation as printed

   C.J. Gorter MRI Center Leiden University Medical Center Leiden Netherlands

   C.J. Gorter MRI Center, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands

2. Bart de Vos Aachen C.J. Gorter MRI Center

   Leiden University Medical Center

   Affiliation as printed

   C.J. Gorter MRI Center Leiden University Medical Center Leiden Netherlands

   C.J. Gorter MRI Center, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands

3. Teresa Guallart‐Naval

   Instituto de Instrumentación para Imagen Molecular · Universitat Politècnica de València

   Affiliation as printed

   Instituto de Instrumentación para Imagen Molecular (I3M) Centro Mixto CSIC‐Universitat Politècnica de València Valencia Spain

4. Javad Parsa Aachen C.J. Gorter MRI Center

   Leiden University Medical Center

   Affiliation as printed

   C.J. Gorter MRI Center Leiden University Medical Center Leiden Netherlands

   C.J. Gorter MRI Center, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands

5. Pablo García Cristóbal

   Instituto de Instrumentación para Imagen Molecular · Universitat Politècnica de València

   Affiliation as printed

   Instituto de Instrumentación para Imagen Molecular (I3M) Centro Mixto CSIC‐Universitat Politècnica de València Valencia Spain

6. Ruben van den Broek Aachen C.J. Gorter MRI Center

   Leiden University Medical Center

   Affiliation as printed

   C.J. Gorter MRI Center Leiden University Medical Center Leiden Netherlands

   C.J. Gorter MRI Center, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands

7. Chloé Najac Aachen C.J. Gorter MRI Center

   Leiden University Medical Center

   Affiliation as printed

   C.J. Gorter MRI Center Leiden University Medical Center Leiden Netherlands

   C.J. Gorter MRI Center, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands

8. Joseba Alonso

   Instituto de Instrumentación para Imagen Molecular · Universitat Politècnica de València

   Affiliation as printed

   Instituto de Instrumentación para Imagen Molecular (I3M) Centro Mixto CSIC‐Universitat Politècnica de València Valencia Spain

9. ANDREW G. WEBB Aachen C.J. Gorter MRI Center

   Leiden University Medical Center

   Affiliation as printed

   C.J. Gorter MRI Center Leiden University Medical Center Leiden Netherlands

   C.J. Gorter MRI Center, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands