MRI Physics Flashcards
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
- Artifact?
- Direction?
- What makes it better?
- What makes it worse?
- Trivia.

- Motion artifact
- Phase encoding direction
- Saturation pulses, respiratory gating, faster sequences (BLADE, PROPELLER)

- Artifact?
- Direction?
- What makes it better?
- What makes it worse?
- Trivia.

- Cross talk or slice-overlap artifact
- NA
- Increase slice gap, interleave slices (all odds then all evens)
- NA
- Caused by overlap of slices

- Artifact?
- Direction?
- What makes it better?
- What makes it worse?
- Trivia.

- Zipper artifact
- Phase encoding
- NA
- NA
- Caused by poor shielding - tech leave door open during the exam? Anesthesia equipment?
- Artifact?
- Direction?
- What makes it better?
- What makes it worse?
- Trivia.

- Field inhomogeneity
- NA
- Shimming
- GRE Sequences make it worse
- Caused by geometric distortion
- Artifact?
- Direction?
- What makes it better?
- What makes it worse?
- Trivia.
- Susceptibility
- NA
- Improves with: SE, less field strength, higher rBW, shot echo spacing, thin slices
- Worsens with GRE, bigger field strength
- Caused by augmentation of magenetic field, very bad in EPI
- Artifact?
- Direction?
- What makes it better?
- What makes it worse?
- Trivia.

- Nyquist or ghosting artifact from Eddy Currents
- NA
- Optimize sequence of gradient pulses
- DWI - large gradient changes can worsen
- Caused by geometric distortion or non-uniformity
Eddy currents can produce a wide range of image artifacts, including shearing, shading, scaling, blurring, and spatial misregistration
- Artifact?
- Direction?
- What makes it better?
- What makes it worse?
- Trivia.

- Dielectric effect
- NA
- Improve with parallel transmit or use 1.5 T
- Worse with 3 T
- Standing waves created as radiowave approaches length of body part - can cause focal decreased signal (abdomen with ascites) or focal increased signal (seen on in this central brain)

- Artifact?
- Direction?
- What makes it better?
- What makes it worse?
- Trivia.

- Magic angle artifact
- NA
- Better on T2
- Worse on T1 and PD
- Occurs at 55 degrees
Seen in patellar tendon on this example
Name artifact and cause

Crisscross or herringbone artifact
- obliquely oriented stripes throughout the image
- cause is data processing and/or reconstruction errors
- make it better by reconstructing image again
Equation for Specific Absorption Rate (SAR)
SAR = B0^2 x alpha^2 x Duty Cycle
B0 = Field strength
alpha = flip angle
Duty cycle (increasing TR increases decreases your duty cycle)
SAR Limits
No tissue shall endure a temperature increase of greater than 1 degree C
FDA limts are 4 W/kg over 15 minutes
and 3 W/kg over 10 minutes
Weeky QC for accredited MR scanners
Performed by MR technolgist
- Center Frequency
- Table positioning
- setup and scanning
- geometric accuracy
- high contrast resolution (verified by phatom)
- low contrast resolution
- artifact analysis
- film quality control
- vsual checklist
Annual QC for accredited MR scanners
Performed by medial physicist or MR scientist
- Magnetic field homogeneity
- slice position accuracy
- slice thickness accuracy
- radiofrequency coil check
- display monitor check
MRI zones
- No restriction. Outside of the building.
- No restriction. Waiting room and dressing room. This is where you can screen patients and control access to Zone 3 and 4.
- Restricted room. Control room where the tech works, should be a lock on the door.
- Restriced room. Actual MRI scanner room (same room as the magnet).