How is the performance of the MRI scanner monitored?

The performance of the MRI system is monitored via a series of daily and weekly scan protocols.  Daily QA scans on a large water phantom ensure:
- high temporal SNR for functional MRI
- consistent single image SNR and minimal/consistent image ghost intensity in EPI scans for functional and diffusion weighted MRI
- lack of RF interference from other equipment and lack of gradient spiking that could cause image artifacts.
Weekly QA scans using a structured phantom are used to assess gradient non-linearity and image distortion.

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