What type of artifacts can result from patient movement during a scan?

Motion artifacts are the result of patient movement during a scan and are characterized by blurring or streaks in the resulting images. When a patient moves, even slightly, during the imaging process, it can disrupt the consistency of the data being captured. This can lead to a misalignment of the scanned tissue or structures, causing noticeable distortions in the final images.

These artifacts can obscure important anatomical details and make it challenging for radiologists and healthcare providers to interpret the images accurately. For this reason, it is critical for patients to remain as still as possible during scans. Ensuring that patients understand this instruction and that measures are taken to minimize movement can help improve the quality of the imaging results.

In contrast, other types of artifacts mentioned involve different underlying causes: beam hardening comes from varying attenuation of the X-ray beam through different materials, metallic artifacts arise from the presence of metal objects within or near the scanned area, and partial volume artifacts are related to how the imaging system averages signal from adjacent tissues that fall within the same voxel. Each of these has its unique characteristics and origins, which differ from the specific issue of patient movement.