Differentiation of silicone gel from water and fat in MR phase imaging of protons at 0.064 T.

The authors present a method of identifying silicone at magnetic resonance (MR) imaging based on its chemical shift. The method relies on phase images reconstructed from a gradient-recalled-echo sequence that has an echo time chosen to maximize the phase offsets between water, fat, and silicone. Results from studies at 0.064 T of both phantoms and human subjects are presented. This technique was useful in identifying extracapsular silicone and may be applicable at other field strengths.