MRI; Radiology Cafe notes Flashcards
Properties of superconducting magnet?
Accounts of B0.
6 toness
always on
Which part of the superconducting maggnet makes a lot of heat
the constant current
1 Tesla = how many Gaus
10 000
The earths Gaus is what
0.5
what are shiim coils?
lie just inside the outer main magnet. fine tune to make it as uniform as possible
how many sets of gradient coils are there
3
what creates the loud noise in MRi
rapid turning on and off of gradient coils
Properties of the radiofrquency coils.
- orientation
They are at right angles to the Z/B0.
Properties of the radiofrquency coils.
- they are tuned to what?
a particular frequency.
to also receive the MR signals.
Properties of the radiofrquency coils.
- location
have to be as close to the body as possible
What types of RF coil are there?
Transmit and receive - standard body coil - head coil Receive only - surface coil
Phased array coils
Transmit phased array coils
What are phased array coils in MRI?
Multiple receive coils, receives signals individually but are then combine to imporve SNR.
in which coils do the magnetic fields from tissues get recorded
RF coils
what is precession
magnetic nuclei will rotate about the axis of the field
What is equation for Precessional frequency
Larmor equation
F = gyromagnetic ratio x B0
why do we flip the magnetisation to 90 degrees
the mangetic field strength can’t be measured in B0.
How does the magnetisation get flipped 90 degrees?
usea rapidly oscillating magnetic field at 90 degrees to B0.
Called B1.
What frequency does B1 needs to oscillate at? and why?
same frequency as the resonance frequency (1 Tesla - 42MHz) - ensures the most efficent transference of energy to nuclei.
How long will nuclei remain in the transverse plane for?
for as long as the RF is applied, afterwards start to move back to longitudinal axis.
How does the transverse magnetisation return to B0 direction?
spin lattice relaxation
spin spin relaxation
An electric voltage is induced in the receiving coils. At what frequency will it be?
The larmor frequency. Nuclei precession.
what is the value of T1
it is the time it takes for Mz to recover 63% of its value
T1
what is it for water, fat and bone
Water - long T1 - fast moving molecules don’t absorb energy quickly so don’t cause much disruption. Water retains magnetisation.
Fat - short T1 - large molecules with low innate energy. Quickly absorb the energy and so quickly lose magnetisation.
Bone - fixed and rigid. least efficient ar removing energy from precessing nuclei. LONG
what is FID - free induction decay?
the exponential rate of loss of coherance and net transverse magnetisation reduces to zero.
what is T2?
it is the time taken to lose 63% of its inital value.
what is T2 for water, fat and bone
The more relaxed the molecules (ie water) the more uniform the magnetic field. So retain coherance. Long T2
Fixed molecules disrupt the magnetic field more so lose coherane quicker. SHORT T2.
What is T2*
The fact that in the real world T2 is much faster than expected due to local and external magnetic field inhomogeneities.
Spin echo - what is the aim of spin echo?
to remove the T2* effects but maintain T2 contrast.
How does Spin echo worK/
90 degrees applied, time t do a 180 degree pulse.
2t do TE.
The reduction in signal form original 90 degress to 2t is the decay of the tissue due to T2 (removed the effect of T2*)
How many time is is TE repeated?
Hundreds of times in a sequence.
TE vs TR
TE is when the echo is received - it is 2t.
TR is the time until the next 90 degress pulse is put out.
What are the advantages of the spin echo sequence?
Truw T2 weighting
High SNR
Minimise susceptibility effects
Whare the disadvantages of a spin echo?
Long scan times
More RF power needed than in GE.
in order to maximise T2 weighted images we can minimise T1 contrast at short or long TR. Why is along TR chosen>?
At a short TR the signals are too small to be of use.
in order to maximise T1 weighted images we can minimise T2 by using a short or long TE. Which do we use?
A long TE has no signal.
A short is therefore used.
For T1
Typical T1 and T2 times
TR 300 - 600
TE 10 - 30
For T2 weighted
Tycpical T1 and T2 times
TR 2000
TE 90 -140
slice selection is which axis?
Z
frequency encoding is which axis?
X
phase encoding is which axis?
Y
how does slice selection work?
- a gradient is applied in the Z (over the background field).
- Means each point along the Z will have a different field strength and therefore different Lamor.
- RF pulse to flip into the 90 degrees has to be the same as Lamor frequency.
- changing the RF pulse measn selecting a different slice along the Z axis.
what is resetting the gradient?
In relation to the Z axis gradient applied. Happens between selecting next slices to rephase the nuclei.
What is the RF bandwith?
the range of frequencies within the pulse
What is the RF pulse frequency?
is the frequency change that will move the slice selection up or down.
What is the gradient strength?
for the same bandwith a larger/steeper gradient will select a smaller slice.
what is read out gradient?
It is the x axis column
what are the properties of nuclei in the x axis? Why is this a problem?
different amplitudes
same frequency and phase.
The signal produced would create one big wave
How do we overcome the fact that all nuclei in the x axis have the same frequency and phase?
Apply another gradient in the x axis which creates a new frequency based on the location of the x direction
What is the problem of applying a gradient in the x direction? How do we correct this>
Causes the signals to become very small as they dephase.
To correct this we apply a dephase gradient first first which is followed by the read-out gradient
The gardient echo is the collection period that then receives the signal.
What are the artefacts of frequency enoding?
Aliasing and chemical shift
Aliasing - if the signal is not sampled regularly enoughed what happens
underestimate the signal
what is the Nyquist limit =
sampling frequency / 2
how does aliasing work in the frequency encoding?
under sampled will underestimate the frequency. As a result the lower frequency signals will be placed at the low end of the X axis.