Prelim Glossary Exam Flashcards
is a continuously changing flow of electrons that alternates its polarity at a periodic rate.
AC - Alternating Current
- the process of measuring and storing image data
ACQUISITION
- the total number of independent data samples in the
frequency (f) and phase (f) directions.
ACQUISITION MATRIX
- the period of time required to collect the image data. This time does not include the time necessary to reconstruct the image. ADC - analog-to-digital
converter
ACQUISITION TIME
- a current that continuously changes in magnitude and
direction. In the US the current changes at a frequency of 60 Hz
ALTERNATING CURRENT (AC)
- being continuous, or having a continuous range of values.
ANALOG
- a system that receives analog input data
and produces digital values at its output. Used by the MRI scanner to convert the received signal into a format more compatible with the computer systems.
ANALOG-TO-DIGITAL CONVERTER (ADC)
- a device that enables the sending and/or receiving of electromagnetic waves. See also Transmitter, Receiver Coils and Surface Coils.
ANTENNA
- the storage of image and patient data for future retrieval.
ARCHIVING
- a dedicated computer system used to perform Fourier transformations to accelerate the processing of the received numerical data relative
to the MR imaging process.
ARRAY PROCESSOR
- a plane, slice or section made by cutting the body or part of it at right angles to the long axis. If the body or part is upright, the cut would be parallel to the
horizon
AXIAL
- a conventional symbol for the constant magnetic field produced by the large magnet in the MR scanner
B or Bo
- the conventional symbol used for identifying
the radio frequency (RF) magnetic field
B1
- an all-inclusive term referring to the preselected band or range of frequencies which can govern both slice select and signal sampling
BANDWIDTH (BW)
- a variation in the nominal Larmor frequency for a particular isotope within the imaging volume. The amount of shift introduced is directly proportional to the strength of the magnetic field, and is specified in parts per million
(ppm) of the resonant frequency
CHEMICAL SHIFT
- a series of rapidly recorded multiple images taken at sequential cycles of time and displayed on a monitor in a dynamic movie display format. This technique can be
used to show true range of motion studies of joints and parts of the spine.
CINE
- a large network of interconnecting blood vessels at the base of the brain that when visualized resembles a circle
CIRCLE OF WILLIS
- a psychological reaction to being confined in a relatively small area
CLAUSTROPHOBIA
- the act of maintaining a constant phase relationship between oscillating waves or rotating objects.
COHERENCE
- the relative difference of signal intensities in two adjacent regions of an image. Image contrast is heavily dependent on the chosen imaging technique (i.e., TE, TR, TI), and is associated with such parameters as proton density and T1 or T2 relaxation times
CONTRAST
- an image phenomenon where the darks become bright, and the brights become dark. This is usually most prevalent in sequences utilizing an
extended TR
CONTRAST REVERSAL
) - the ratio of signal intensity differences between
two regions, scaled to image noise. Improving CNR increases perception of the distinct differences between two clinical areas of interest.
CONTRAST-TO-NOISE RATIO (CNR
- a plane, slice or section made by cutting across the body from side to side and therefore parallel to the coronal suture of the skull
CORONAL
- an artifact introduced into images by interference between adjacent slices of a scan. This artifact can be eliminated by limiting the minimum spacing
between slices.
CROSSTALK
- a cooling agent, typically liquid helium or liquid nitrogen used to reduce the temperature of the magnet windings in a superconducting magnet. dB/dt - The
rate of change of the magnetic field. This shows the ratio between the amount of change in amplitude of the magnetic field (dB) and the time it takes to make that
change (dt). The value of dB/dt is measured in Tesla per second (T/s). DC - direct
current.
CRYOGEN
- the fanning out or loss of phase coherence of signals within the transverse plane. See also T2.
DEPHASING
- a magnetic field characterized by its own north and south magnetic poles separated by a finite distance
DIPOLE
- a continuous current that flows in only one direction.
DIRECT CURRENT (DC)
- the total number of pixels in the selected matrix, which is described by the product of its phase and frequency axis
DISPLAY MATRIX
- a theory of magnetism which assumes that groups of atoms produced by movement of electrons align themselves in groups called”domains” in
magnetic materials.
DOMAIN THEORY
- Gadolinium chelating (chemical bonding) agent that solves the problem of toxicity
DTPA - Diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid
- the utilization of rapid gradient reversal pulses of the readout gradient resulting in a series of gradient echo signals to reduce fast dephasing or signal loss.
ECHO PLANAR IMAGING (EPI)
- a series of 180° RF rephasing pulses and their corresponding echoes for a Fast Spin Echo (FSE) pulse sequence.
ECHO TRAIN
ETL -
Echo Train Length
- an induced spurious electrical current produced by time-varying magnetic fields. Eddy currents can cause artifacts in images and may seriously degrade overall magnet performance
EDDY CURRENT
- a type of magnet that utilizes coils of wire, typically wound on an iron core, so that as current flows through the coil it becomes magnetized. See also
Resistive Magnet, Superconducting Magnet.
ELECTROMAGNET
) - the response of electrons to electromagnetic
radiation and magnetic fields at discrete frequencies. EPI - echo planar imaging. See
also Echo Planar Imaging
ELECTRON SPIN RESONANCE (ESR
- a state of balance that exists between two opposing forces or divergent forms of influence.
EQUILIBRIUM
- delivering (inducing, transferring) energy into the “spinning” nuclei via radio-frequency pulse(s), which puts the nuclei into a higher energy state. By producing a net transverse magnetization an MRI system can observe a response from the excited system
EXCITATION
(Faraday Cage) - an electrically conductive screen or shield that reduces or eliminates interference between outside radio waves and those from the MRI unit.
FARADAY SHIELD
- a specialized technique usually associated with short TR, reduced flip angle and repeated 180° rephasing pulses.
FAST SCANNING
- a fast spin echo pulse sequence characterized by a series of rapidly applied 180° rephasing pulses and multiple echoes, changing the phase encoding gradient for each echo
FAST SPIN ECHO (FSE)
- A specialized technique that selectively saturates fat
protons prior to acquiring data as in standard sequences, so that they produce
negligible signal. The pre-saturation pulse is applied prior to each slice selection. This
technique requires a very homogeneous magnetic field and very precise frequency
calibration. See also Fat Suppression.
FAT SATURATION (FAT-SAT)
- the process of utilizing specific parameters , commonly with STIR (short TI inversion recovery) sequences, to remove the deleterious effects of fat from the resulting images. See also STIR.
FAT SUPPRESSION
- defined as the size of the two or three dimensional spatial encoding area of the image. Usually defined in units of cm2.
FIELD OF VIEW (FOV)
- a particularly fast and efficient computational method of performing a Fourier Transform, which is the mathematical process by which raw data is processed into a usable image.
FFT (Fast Fourier Transform)
(also known as GRADIENT ECHO) - echo produced by reversing the direction of the magnetic field gradient to cancel out the position-dependent phase
shifts that have accumulated due to the gradient.
FIELD ECHO (FE)
FLAIR
FLuid Attenuated Inversion Recovery
FLARE
Fast Low-Angle Recalled Echoes
- the angle to which the net magnetization is rotated or tipped relative to the main magnetic field direction via the application of an RF excitation pulse at the Larmor frequency. The Flip Angle is used to define the angle of excitation for a Field Echo pulse sequence.
FLIP ANGLE (FA)
- a function of specific pulse sequences, i.e., CRISP¿ (Complex Rephasing Integrated with Surface Probes) spin echo, wherein the application of
strategic gradient pulses can compensate for the objectionable spin phase effects of
flow motion.
FLOW COMPENSATION
- invisible lines of force that extend around a magnetic material. The greatest density is at the two poles of the magnet.
FLUX
- the number of lines of force per unit area of a magnetic material
FLUX DENSITY
- a mathematical procedure used in MRI scanners to analyze and separate amplitude and phases of the individual frequency components of the
complex time varying signal. Fourier transform analysis allows spatial information to
be reconstructed from the raw data
FOURIER TRANSFORM (FT)
- if transverse magnetization of the spins is produced, e.g., by a 90É RF pulse, a transient MR signal at the Larmor frequency results that decays toward zero with a characteristic time constant of T2*. This decaying signal is the
FREE INDUCTION DECAY (FID)
- the number of cycles or repetitions of any periodic wave or process per unit time. In electromagnetic radiation, it is usually expressed in units of hertz (Hz), where 1 Hz = 1 cycle per second.
FREQUENCY
- the process of locating an MR signal in one dimension by applying a magnetic field gradient along that dimension during the period when the
signal is being received.
FREQUENCY ENCODING
- a term usually relating to the extents of the magnetic field surrounding the magnet. Safety requirements dictate that the distances of particular field strengths from the magnet must be known, and that potentially unsafe areas
must be indicated with appropriate warning signs. Access to areas with field strengths of 5 gauss and higher must be strictly controlled. FSE - See Fast Spin Echo. Gx, Gy, Gz - the conventional symbols for the three orthogonal magnetic gradients. The subscripts designate the conventional spatial direction of the gradient.
FRINGE FIELD
- is a non-toxic paramagnetic contrast enhancement agent utilized in MR imaging. When injected during the scan, gadolinium will tend to
change signal intensities by shortening T1 in its surroundings.
GADOLINIUM (Gd)
- timing the acquisition of MR data to physiological motion in order to minimize motion artifacts (e.g., cardiac gating, respiratory gating).
GATING
- a unit of magnetic field strength that is approximately the strength of the
earth’s magnetic field at its surface (the earth’s field is about 0.5 to 1G). The value of
1 gauss is defined as 1 line of flux per cm2. As larger magnetic fields have become
commonplace, the unit gauss (G) has been largely replaced by the more practical unit
tesla (T), where 1 T = 10,000 G. GHOSTING - an image artifact primarily associated
with the phase direction
GAUSS
- three paired orthogonal current-carrying coils located within the magnet which are designed to produce desired gradient magnetic fields which collectively and sequentially are superimposed on the main magnetic field (Bo) so that selective spatial excitation of the imaging volume can occur. Gradients are also used to apply reversal pulses in some fast imaging techniques.
GRADIENT COILS
- A small linear magnetic field applied in addition to
(superimposed on) the large static magnetic field in an MRI scanner. The strength (amplitude) and direction of the gradient fields change during the scan, which allows
each small volume element (voxel) within the imaging volume to resonate at a different frequency. In this way, spatial encoding may be performed.
GRADIENT MAGNETIC FIELD
- a constant for any given nucleus that relates the nuclear MR frequency and the strength of the external magnetic field. It represents the ratio of the magnetic moment (field strength) to the angular momentum (frequency) of a
particle. The value of the gyromagnetic ratio for hydrogen (1H) is 4,258 Hz/Gauss (42.58 MHz/Tesla).
GYROMAGNETIC RATIO (g)
- the standard unit of frequency equal to 1 cycle per second. The larger unit
megahertz (MHz) = 1,000,000 Hz.
HERTZ
- uniformity of the main magnetic field.
HOMOGENEITY
- the concentration of Hydrogen atoms in water molecules or in some groups of fat molecules within tissue. Initial MR signal amplitudes are
directly related to H+ density in the tissue being imaged.
HYDROGEN DENSITY (H+)
- the time required to gather a complete set of
image data. The total time for performing a scan must take into consideration the additional image reconstruction time when determining how quickly the image(s) may be viewed.
IMAGE (DATA) ACQUISITION TIME
- the mathematical process of converting the composite
signals obtained during the data acquisition phase into an image.
IMAGE RECONSTRUCTION
- lack of homogeneity or uniformity in the main magnetic field.
INHOMOGENEITY
- an imaging sequence that involves successive 180É and
90É pulses, after which a heavily T1-weighted signal is obtained. The inversion recovery sequence is specified in terms of three parameters, inversion time (TI), repetition time (TR) and echo time (TE).
INVERSION RECOVERY (IR)
- the time period between the 180° inversion pulse and the 90° excitation pulse in an Inversion Recovery pulse sequence.
INVERSION TIME (TI)
- Atomic nuclei that contain the same number of protons, but differ in the number of neutrons in the
nucleus of the atom for the element concerned.
ISOTOPE
- a data acquisition matrix containing raw image data prior to image processing. In 2DFT, a line of data corresponds to the digitized NMR signal at a particular phase-encoding level.
K-SPACE