Portfolio Qs

Question 1

You mention in your portfolio that the pineapple core has a shorter T1 than the melon, and therefore it contains more fat, can you explain this more, do you think what you said is accurate?

Answer 1

• No, this was a mistake unfortunately
• It’s true that the global T1 time is shorter for the pineapple core than the melon, but this does not necessarily mean there is more fat. I made an erroneous leap at the time that since T1 times for fat are shorter than water, this correlates
• What is really going on from the physics of the relaxation, is that there are more structured, longer chained molecules contributing to the shortening of the T1, perhaps from more fibrous membranes within the core of the pineapple
• NB: I did in fact do FAT-SAT and WAT-SAT measurements on the two fruits, and it showed that the flesh of both fruits is predominantly water signal with very small contributions from fat

Question 2

I see you performed quantitative LV assessment using MR, summarise how this was done.

Answer 2

• Short axis sines from the base of the heart to the apex were used to quantify the cardiac left ventricular (LV) function
• LV endocardial (red) and epicardial (green)
  borders were contoured around the structures, in all slices from base to apex for both end diastole (relaxation) and end-systole (contraction) phases
• The ejection fraction can then be calculated by comparing the volume of the blood pool between these phases, and the results are normalised by Body Surface Area (BSA)

Question 3

What kind of scanners did you use over the course of your placement?

Answer 3

• Siemens 3T PRISMA-FIT
• 1.5T Avanto-FIT (60cm bore, standard)
• 1.5T Aera (70cm, wide-bore)