Head position during brain and inner ear MRI can create artifacts that impact interpretation and patient comfort
Medical Xpress
February 17, 2026
Dark, diamond-shaped spots in inner ear magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans are not always signs of pathological changes—they can simply result from how a person is positioned in the scanner. A pilot study at the Karl Landsteiner University (KL Krems) shows that characteristic "flow void" artifacts in the inner ear become markedly more pronounced when the head is tilted back and less when the chin is tilted down. With the head tilted back, some volunteers also reported dizziness.
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Originally published on Medical Xpress on 2/17/2026