Magnetic resonance imaging of iatrogeny: understanding imaging artifacts related to medical devices

Medical devices are frequently encountered in patients presenting for imaging studies. Knowledge of the device composition, dwell time, and location is essential for determining the safety and potential impact on the quality of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examinations. Anticipation of MRI artifacts associated with implanted devices allows the radiologist to adjust parameters to mitigate their effect on the anatomy of interest and to avoid pitfalls in interpretation. The purpose of this article is to present a pictorial review of the MRI appearance of commonly encountered implanted devices and foreign objects in order to help the radiologist anticipate their impact on final image quality.