MRI Visualization and Distribution Patterns of Foreign Modeling Agents: A Brief Pictorial Review for Clinicians

Figure 3

Magnetic resonance imaging using STIR (short tau inversion recovery, also known as short-TI inversion recovery) sequence. STIR is a fat suppression technique with an inversion time , where the fat signal is zero; this equates to approximately 140 ms at 1.5 T. STIR is used to distinguish two tissue components when their T1 values are different. It allows homogeneous and global fat suppression and can be used with low-field-strength magnets. However, this technique is not specific for fat; thus, the signal intensity of tissue with a long T1 and tissue with a short T1 may cause ambiguity. In this figure, STIR shows in two planes the infiltration by the modeling agent to the legs, an unknown substance, 800 ml. (a) Axial plane: the presence of modeling material with a hypointense globular pattern that affects the anteromedial surfaces of the subcutaneous cell tissue of both legs is observed (white arrows). (b) Coronal T1 sequence: the signal of the modeling material is isointense to the muscle (white arrowheads).

(a)

(b)