A method to reduce systematic spatial shift associated with magnetic resonance imaging.

To reduce the chemical shifts during magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, the authors replaced the petroleum gel in the Brown-Roberts-Well (BRW) MR localizer with chromium chloride. Computed tomography and MR scans were obtained of a phantom skull containing objects with known spatial coordinates. A 2-to 3-mm systematic spatial shift in the frequency-encoded direction was observed with petroleum gel, but not with CrCl3. Results were verified by reconstructing the three-dimensional spatial location of each object using X-Knife computer software. The authors conclude that spatial localization is more accurate with a CrCl3-filled than a petroleum-filled BRW-MR localizer.