Introduction: RF receives and transmits inhomogeneity is one of the most effective causes of image nonuniformity in MRI images and is considered as an important source of error in quantitative studies. one Part of this inhomogeneity is the characteristic of RF coils and another part of it, is due to the interaction of RF field with the body being imaged.
Materials and methods: In this study, RF field inhomogeneity of a volume head coil is measured in human brain (in vivo) as well as in water and oil phantoms, using a simple method that has been proposed by this group.
Results and discussion: The results showed that RF inhomogeneity n water phantom is more than its value in oil phantom, even more than its value in human brain In vivo conditions. Non-uniformity of the pattern shows that in both Invivo and water phantom cases, standing wave effect is dominant under our experimental conditions, which may cause overestimations in real values of RF inhomogenity parameters and so image quality factors, therefore, it should be considered in designing MR phantoms.