MRI Physics Flashcards
(39 cards)
Spin Echo TR and TE durations for T1 and T2 weighting
T1: Short TR (250-700 ms), Short TE (10-25 ms) T2: Long TR (>2000 ms), Long TE (>60 ms) PD: Long TR, Short TE
GRE TR and TE durations for T1 and T2 weighting
T1: Short TR (<50 ms), Short TE (1-5 ms) T2: Long TR (>100 ms), Long TE (>10 ms) PD: Long TR, Short TE
Information location in K-space
Contrast information is central, resolution information is peripheral
Factors affecting SNR
Better SNR if: - Long TR - Big FOV - Large Slices (shallow/small SSG, thick tBW) - More NEX - Short TE - Small Matrix - Small rBW - Appropriate coil size
Factors affecting spatial resolution
Better SR if: - Small voxel (voxel = FOV/matrix) - Thinner slices (Steep/large SSG and tBW)
Table time formula
Time = TR x Phase Marix x NEX (doesn’t work for FSE or 3D imaging) For 3D must also multiple by # of slices
Modification: Thicker Slices Affect on SNR, SR and Table time?
SNR: Increased SR: Decreased Time: No effect
Modification: Larger FOV Affect on SNR, SR and Table time?
SNR: Increased SR: Decreased Time: No effect
Modification: Larger Matrix Affect on SNR, SR and Table time?
SNR: Decreased SR: Increased Time: Increased (more phase encoding steps)
Modification: Greater Field Strength Affect on SNR, SR and Table time?
SNR: Increased SR: No effect Time: No effect
Modification: Greater rBW Affect on SNR, SR and Table time?
SNR: Decreased (picking up more noise) SR: No effect Time: Decreased (picking up more signal in same amount of time)
Modification: Greater tBW Affect on SNR, SR and Table time?
SNR: Increased (sending more signal for echo) SR: Decreased? Time: No effect
Modification:More Excitations per slice Affect on SNR, SR and Table time?
SNR: Increased SR: No effect Time: Increased
Modification: Utilizing partial K Space Sampling Affect on SNR, SR and Table time?
SNR: Decreased SR: No effect Time: Decreased
Name Sequence

Spin Echo
- 90 RF + SSG
- PEG + FEG
- 180 RF + SSG(2)
- FEG + Echo
Name Sequence

FSE
- ETL = # echos in 1 TR; acquisition time is proportional to 1/ETL
- Messing with J coupling and causes increased brightness of fat
Sequence?

Inversion recovery
- STIR 120-160 ms (MSK)
- FLAIR 2000 ms (NEURO)
- STIR is much less “susceptible” to magnetic susceptibility and field inhomogeneity than other fat suppression techques
- STIR cannot be be used with Gadolinium
Name Sequence

GRE
- No 180 pulse means you have T2*, not T2
- lower SAR
- TE controls T2* weighting, alpha (flip angle) controls T1 weighting
- Spoiled GRE is basically T1 - get ride of residual transverse magnetization
- Refocused (coherent) GRE is basically T2- SSFP example -
Name Sequence

Echo Planar Imaging
- More susceptibility to metal artifact
- fast acquisition method
- Technique used for DWI
Name 3 factors that decrease chemical shift artifact
- Decreased field strength
- Increased gradient strength
- Wider rBW
Note*** Chemical Shift Artifact is only artifact in the frequency encoding direction
Spin echo sequences gets ride of chemical shift type 2 artifact, but type 1 is seen on both SE and GRE
- Artifact?
- Direction?
- What makes it better?
- What makes it worse?
- Trivia.

- Aliasing
- Phase encoding
- Increase field of view, change the phase encoding direction
- Smaller fields of view make it worse.
- Caused by small FOV
- Artifact?
- Direction?
- What makes it better?
- What makes it worse?
- Trivia.

- Chemical shift type 1
- Frequency encoding
- Bigger pixels, fat suppression, increase rBW
- Stronger magnetic field and lower rBW make it worse
- Caused by differences in resonance frequencies
- Artifact?
- Direction?
- What makes it better?
- What makes it worse?
- Trivia.

- Chemical shift type 2 or India Ink artifact
- Both phase and frequency encoding directions
- Adjust the TE, perform spin echo sequence (only occurs on GRE)
- N/A to worsen
- Caused by differences in rosnance frequences - oppose each other at specific TE intervals
- Artifact?
- Direction?
- What makes it better?
- What makes it worse?
- Trivia.

- Gibbs/truncation artifact
- Both phase and frequency encoding direction
- Bigger matrix, decreased BW, decrease pixel size (increase PE steps, decrease FOV) to improve
- N/A worsen
- Caused by limited sample of FID, classically seen in the spinal cord










