A variety of factors contribute to image quality: field strength, gradient performance, homogeneity, coil design, signal- and image-processing techniques, and sequence tailoring.

Field strength is only one among many aspects of MR imaging quality.

However, technical development and scientific investigations have focused on high-field systems, which have a field strength of 1.5 to more than 9 T, using superconducting helium-cooled magnets. This aiming for higher field strengths has lasted for nearly three decades.