Numerical simulation of SAR induced around Co-Cr-Mo hip prostheses in situ exposed to RF fields associated with 1.5 and 3 T MRI body coils.

When patients with metallic prosthetic implants undergo an MR procedure, the interaction between the RF field and the prosthetic device may lead to an increase in specific absorption rate (SAR) in tissues surrounding the prosthesis. In this work, the distribution of SAR10g around bilateral CoCrMo alloy hip prostheses in situ in anatomically realistic voxel models of an adult male and female due to RF fields from a generic birdcage coil driven at 64 or 128 MHz are predicted using a time-domain finite integration technique. Results indicate that the spatial distribution and maximum values of SAR10g are dependent on body model, frequency, and the position of the coil relative to the body. Enhancement of SAR10g close to the extremities of a prosthesis is predicted. Values of SAR10g close to the prostheses are compliant with recommended limits if the prostheses are located outside the coil. However, caution is required when the prostheses are within the coil since the predicted SAR10g close to an extremity of a prosthesis exceeds recommended limits when the whole body averaged SAR is 2 W kg−1. Compliance with recommended limits is likely to require a reduction in the time averaged input power. Magn Reson Med, 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.