1.5T/64.

58 MHz
Sequence TR ms TE ms TI inversion time ETL FA
SE T1 300-700 Min – 30 n/a 1 90…180
SE T2 2000+ 70+ n/a 1 90…180
SE PD 2000+ Min - 30 n/a 1 90…180

TSE T1 300-700 Min - 20 n/a 2-8 90…180

TSE T2 3000-10000 80-140 n/a 12-30 90…180
TSE PD 3000-10000 Min - 20 n/a 4-12 90…180

IR T1 3000+ Min - 20 200-800 2-6 180..90..180

STIR (null fat) 3000+ 50+ 100-175 16+ 180..90..180
FLAIR (null CFS) 6000+ 70+ 1700-2500 16+ 180..90..180

Incoherent GE T1 <50 5-10 n/a n/a 30°- 45 °

Spoiled
Coherent T2* 20-50 10-15 n/a n/a 30°- 45 °
Rewound
Balanced GE <10 5-10 n/a n/a >35°
Variable
 Common Sequence Parameter Summary 1.5T/64.58MHz
Sequence TR TE Venc Venc FA
Arterial Venous
Gradient Echos
PC-Phase contrast 25-33ms Minimum 60 cm/s 20–40 cm/s 30°
MRA 2D and 3D

TOF-MRA 2D 28–45 ms Minimum n/a n/a 40–60°

TOF-MRA 3D 25–50ms Minimum n/a n/a 20–30°

The figures given are for 1.5 T and 3 T systems. Parameters are dependent on field strength and may need adjustment for very
low or very high field systems.
 3T/127.7 MHz
Sequence TR TE TI inversion time ETL FA
SE T1 400-800 Min – 15 n/a 1 90…180°
SE T2 2500+ 70+ n/a 1 90…180 °
SE PD 2500+ Min - 15 n/a 1 90…180°

TSE T1 400-600 Min - 15 n/a 2-6 90…180°

TSE T2 4000+ 90+ n/a 20+ 90…180°
TSE PD 4000+ Min - 15 n/a 2-6 90…180°

IR T1 3500+ Min - 20 Short or null time of tissue 2-6 180..90..180°

STIR (null fat) 3000+ 60+ 210 20+ 180..90..180°
T2 FLAIR (null CSF) (TR at least 4X TI) 80+ 1700-2500 20+ 180..90..180°

Incoherent GE T1 <50 min n/a n/a 30-45°

Spoiled
Coherent GE T2* <50 10-15 n/a n/a 30-45°
Rewound
TE In and Out of Phase
In Phase
TE In and Out of Phase
1.5T - Occurs every 2.25ms
In Phase 0sec 4.5ms 9ms 13.5ms

Out of 2.25ms 6.75ms 11.25ms

Phase
Out of Phase
TE In and Out of Phase
3T - Occurs every 1.2ms
In Phase 0sec 2.4ms 4.8ms 7.2ms

Out of 1.2ms 3.6ms 6ms

Phase Images belong to NAIT

Parameter Size Ranges

Parameter 1.5T Small Medium Large
FOV <= 18 cm 18-30 cm >= 30 cm
Slice Thickness 2D 2-4 mm 5-8mm 8mm
Slice Thickness 3D <= 1 mm >= 3mm
Number of Slices <= 32 64 >= 128
NEX <= 1 2-3 >= 4
Summary of Pulse Sequences
Sequence Key points Main Uses
Spin Echo (SE) • Most common sequence • Anatomical detail
• Meniscal pathology
• Contrast

Turbo Spin Echo (TSE) • Reduces scan time • Most commonly used sequence

Inversion Recovery (IR) • Produces heavily T1 weighted images • Differentiation of grey/white matter
• Pediatrics

Short Tau Inversion Recovery • Nulls Fat • Musculoskeletal

• Bone marrow pathologies -Bone
(STIR) Not used with gad bruises, lesions, tumours
• Gad shortens T1 recovery times of • Fat suppression in general
enhancing tissue (hyperintense). The • Edema
T1 recovery times approach T1
recovery times of fat, therefor
enhancing tissues may be nulled.

Fluid Attenuated Inversion • Nulls CSF

• Not used with gad
•
•
Brain and spine imaging
MS plaques
Recovery (FLAIR ) • Sub-arachnoid hemorrhage
• Meningitis

Gradient Echo • Uses gradients (not 180˚ rephasing) •

•
Abdomen
Single slice breath holds
Coherent, Incoherent, Balanced • Angiographic sequences
• Ligaments, tendons
• Loose bodies
• Subtle hemorrhages

Echo Planar Imaging (EPI) • FAST!!!! •

•
Cardiac
Abdomen
• Fetal
• DWI, PWI, fMRI
Pulse Sequence Summary
Spin Echo • Uses a 180˚ to regenerate signal to measure relaxation times and produce contrast
Weightings • T1 (almost always), T2, PD

Description • 90˚ excitation pulse to flip NMV into transverse plane

• Followed by 180˚ re-phasing pulse that produces a spin echo
• A spin echo is the signal that is induced in the receiver coil when the magnetic moments are in phase and
contains both T1 and T2 information
• Most often used sequence because it optimizes SNR and CNR
TR Value 1.5T T1 = short, 300-700 ms
PD/T2 = long, 2000+ ms

TE Value 1.5T T1 = short, Min to 30 ms

PD = short (1st echo), Min to 30 ms
T2 = long (2nd echo), 70+ ms
Advantages T1 = Anatomical detail, meniscal pathology, used with gad
PD = Anatomical detail, meniscal pathology
T2 = Detection of fluid and pathology

Disadvantages T1 = Poor detection of soft tissue edema (dark fluid), poor detection of marrow pathology
PD = Poor detection of fluid and marrow pathology
T2 = Longer imaging time
Pulse Sequence Summary
Turbo Spin Echo • aka FSE (Fast Spin Echo)
Weightings • Mainly T2 to reduce scan time

Description • 90˚ flip angle followed by several 180˚ re-phasing pulses that produce several spin echoes in one TR
• Echoes have different amplitude of gradient slope so data is collected and stored in different lines of
K-space
• More than one line of K-space if filled per TR thereby reducing scan time
Appearance • Fat remains bright on T2
• Muscles appear darker than usual on T2
TR Value 1.5T T1 = short, 300-700 ms
PD = long, 3000-10000 ms
T2 = long, 3000-10000 ms
TE Value 1.5T T1 = short, Min to 20 ms
PD = short, Min to 20 ms
T2 = long, 80-140 ms
ETL 1.5T • ETL aka Turbo Factor = number of lines of K-space filled per TR
• Longer ETL = shorter scan times
T1 = short, 2-8
PD = medium, 4-12
T2 = long, 12-30
Advantages T2 = Decreased scan time, reduced artifact

Disadvantages T2 = Possible increase in blurring artifact due to ETL length and in ETL the late echoes will have lower
signal amplitudes (fill outer edges of k-space) and affect resolution (echoes will be averaged together)
Pulse Sequence Summary
Inversion Recovery • To produce heavily weighted T1 images
• Often combined with FSE to decrease scan time and suppress signal from certain
tissues
Weightings T1 (Very heavily weighted)

Description • 180˚ pulse that inverts NMV into full saturation

• When inverted pulse is removed, magnetization begins to recover to Bo
• After the inversion time (specified) a 90˚pulse is applied
• This pulse transfers magnetization that has recovered into transverse plane
Uses • Most commonly used to produce very heavily weighted T1 images
• Gad will enhance
• Pediatrics
TR Value 1.5T T1 = long, 3000+ ms

TE Value 1.5T T1 = short, Min to 20 ms

TI 1.5T T1 = medium, 200-800 ms

Pulse Sequence Summary
STIR • Short Tau Inversion Recovery
• Nulls Fat
Weighting STIR

Description • Uses a short TI that corresponds to the null point of fat; therefore there is no signal from fat

Uses • Nulls fat

• Musculoskeletal imaging (fatty marrow is suppressed)
• With fat removed from bone, bruises, lesions and tumors are more clearly seen
• Fat suppression in general MR imaging

When NOT to use • Not used with gad

• Gad shortens T1 recovery times of enhancing tissue (hyperintense). The T1 recovery times approach T1
recovery times of fat, therefor enhancing tissues may be nulled.

TR Value 1.5T 3000+ ms

TE Value1.5T Long, 50+ ms

ETL 1.5T 16+

TI 1.5T Short, 100-175 ms (corresponds to the null time of fat)

Pulse Sequence Summary
FLAIR • Fluid Attenuated Inversion Recovery
• Nulls CSF
Weightings T2 image with suppressed CSF fluid

Description • Utilizes a long TI that corresponds to the null point of CSF

Uses • Nulls CSF

• Can also be modified to null white matter to see pathology within it more clearly
• Brain and spine imaging to see periventricular and cord lesions more clearly
• MS plaques
• Sub-arachnoid haemorrhage
• Meningitis

TR Value 1.5T 6000+ ms

TE Value 1.5T Long, 70+ ms

ETL 1.5T 16+

TI 1.5T Long 1700-2500 ms

Pulse Sequence Summary
Gradient Echo • Uses gradients to regenerate signal to measure relaxation times and produce contrast
• Angiographic sequence
Weightings T1, T2*PD

Description • Uses a variable flip angle so that TR (scan time) can be reduced
• Gradient (not a 180˚ re-phasing pulse) is used to re-phase FID
• Faster than the 180˚ method (using frequency instead of 180˚ pulse)
• Flip angle and TR determine amount of T1 weighting
• TE controls amount of T2* weighting
Uses • Incoherent Spoiled GRE T1 good for Breath-hold, dynamic and CINE volume sequences, T1 VIBE and
LAVA- Abdomen very effective post gad sequence
• Coherent or Rewound GRE T2*-Flowing nuclei always give a signal so can be used to produce
angiographic, myelographic and arthrographic appearance as blood, CSF and joint fluid have high
signal intensity MERGE and MEDICS
• True FISP or FIESTA GRE T2*– Balanced GRE – Pure steady state sequence
TR Value 1.5T T1 = <50ms
T2* = 20-50ms
TE Value 1.5T T1 = 5-10ms
T2* = 10-15 ms
Flip Angle 1.5T T1 = 30˚-45˚
T2* = 30˚-45˚
Advantages T2* = Ligaments & tendons and loose bodies/subtle hemorrhages seen better

Disadvantages T2* = Poor detection of marrow pathology at high field strengths, increased susceptibility to artifact
(magnetic susceptibility)
How do you Increase SNR?
- Change anything that increases voxel volume or reduces noise * Tend to be used more often
Parameter Why does it increase SNR? Effects

Increase TR • Longer TR allows for more recovery of longitudinal magnetization = more mag to • Less T1 weighting, Inc slices
be flipped to create signal • No direct effect on SR
Long TR + Short TE = Optimal
• Increases scan time
Decrease TE • Short TE means less decay in transverse magnetization = more magnetization to • Less T2 weighting
be re-phased into signal • No effect on SR
• No effect on scan time
Flip Angle of 90deg • Maximum signal from 90deg FA • No effect on scan time
• Controls amount of transverse magnetization created for signal
Increase FOV • If matrix stays the same increasing FOV increases voxel size • Decreases SR
• Doubling FOV quadruples SNR • No effect on scan time
Decrease Matrix *
(Frequency x Phase encodings)
• Decreasing matrix actually increases voxel size (i.e. Larger matrix 512x512
decreased to smaller matrix 128 x 128 makes voxels bigger)
• Decreases SR
• Decrease Scan time (if you
• Decreasing phase encoding direction decreases scan time decrease phase-direction)
Increase slice thickness (SLT)
* • Voxels increase in size (depth) • Decreases SR
• No effect on scan time
Increase NEX/NSA
(Number of Averages)
* • Number of times a signal from a given slice is measured
• Doubling NEX increases SNR 41%
• Increases scan time
disproportionate to increase
• Doubles data stores in each line of K-space (averages more data) in SNR
• No effect on SR
Decrease bandwidth • Samples less noise relative to signal • Can increase motion and
• Halving bandwidth improves SNR 40% chemical artefacts and TE
• No effect on SR
• No effect on scan time
Choose and use coils properly • Optimize size of coil to area of interest • No effect on SR
• Use multi-channel coils where possible (phase array or quadrature) • No effect on scan time
• Make sure coil is perpendicular to Bo
ETL • ETL (Number of 180deg re-phasing pulses in one TR) • No effect on SNR
• NO EFFECT ON SNR
How do you Increase Spatial Resolution?
- Change anything that reduces voxel volume
Parameter Why does it increase spatial resolution? Effects
TR • NO EFFECT ON SPATIAL RESOLUTION • No effect on SR

TE • NO EFFECT ON SPATIAL RESOLUTION • No effect on SR

Flip Angle • NO EFFECT ON SPATIAL RESOLUTION • No effect on SR

Decrease FOV • If matrix stays the same reducing FOV decreases voxel size • Decreases SNR
• No effect on scan time
• Decreases coverage
• Increases chance of aliasing
Increase Matrix • Increasing matrix actually decreases voxel (i.e. Smaller matrix 128x128 • Decreases SNR
(Frequency x Phase encodings) increased to larger matrix 512x512 makes voxels smaller) • Increase Scan time (if you
• Increasing phase encoding direction increases scan time increase phase-direction)
Decrease slice thickness (SLT) • Voxels decrease in size (depth) • Decrease SNR
• No effect on scan time
NEX/NSA • NO EFFECT ON SPATIAL RESOLUTION • No effect on SR
(Number of Averages)

Bandwidth • NO EFFECT ON SPATIAL RESOLUTION • No effect on SR

Choose and use coils properly • NO EFFECT ON SPATIAL RESOLUTION • No effect on SR

ETL • NO EFFECT ON SPATIAL RESOLUTION • No effect on SR

How do you Decrease Scan Time?
- Change factors in the formula: Scan Time = (TR x PE x NEX) / ETL

Parameter Why does it decrease scan time? Effects

Decrease TR • Lower time to repetition translates to lower total scan time • Decreases SNR
(Long TR better for SNR)
• No direct effect on SR
• Decreases # of slices
• Increases T1 weighting
Decrease TE • NO EFFECT ON SCAN TIME • No effect on scan time

Increase Flip Angle • NO EFFECT ON SCAN TIME • No effect on scan time

Increase FOV • NO EFFECT ON SCAN TIME • No effect on scan time

Decrease Matrix • Decreasing phase encoding direction decreases scan time • Decreases SR
(Frequency x Phase encodings) • Increases SNR
Increase slice thickness (SLT) • NO EFFECT ON SCAN TIME • No effect on scan time

Decrease NEX/NSA • Number of times a signal from a given slice is measured • Decrease SNR
(Number of Averages) • No effect on SR
• Increases motion artefact
Decrease bandwidth • NO EFFECT ON SCAN TIME • No effect on scan time

Choose and use coils properly • NO EFFECT ON SCAN TIME • No effect on scan time

Increase ETL • ETL (Number of 180deg re-phasing pulses in one TR) • No effect on SNR or SR
• Able to capture more signals in same amount of time due to rapid re- • Increases chance of image
phasing blurring
Decrease your slices • Less volume to acquire • Decreases SNR

Use the shortest TR possible * Select the coarsest matrix possible * Reduce the NEX to a minimum
How do you Increase Voxel Volume (to improve SNR)?
- Changing ANY parameter that affects voxel volume inversely affects Spatial Resolution
Parameter Why? Other Effects

Increase slice thickness • Voxels increase in size (depth) • Decreases SR

Decrease matrix • Decreasing matrix actually increases voxel size • Decreases SR

(i.e. Larger matrix 512x512 decreased to smaller
matrix 128 x 128 makes voxels bigger)

Increase FOV • If matrix stays the same increasing FOV increases • Decreases SR
voxel size
• Doubling FOV quadruples SNR
 Artifact Summary
Artifact Appearance Cause Remedies Effect of Remedy
Phase Mismapping • Ghosting • Motion 1. Swap phase/frequency Inc. scan time
(Motion) • Replicates anatomy along • Common areas are 2. Use Pre-sat pulses Increase SAR
image chest, vessels, CSF, 3. Respiratory Scan time and contrast can
Phase • Always phase dir. swallowing, eyes Compensation (Breath be affected
holds, bellows, gating)
4. Cardiac Gating
Scan time and contrast can
5. Gradient motion re- be affected
phasing Increases minimum TE
6. Immobilize patient
7. Communication with
patient
8. Sedation
Aliasing • Anatomy outside of FOV • Anatomy outside of FOV 1. Increase FOV, if Decrease resolution
(Wrap-around) wraps inside FOV produces signal possible Increase SAR
• Appears on opposite side • This signal is encoded 2. Pre-saturation bands Increases scan time
Frequency and Phase and placed inside FOV 3. Oversampling
Truncation • Banding at the interface of • Under-sampling of data 1. Increase matrix Improve SR but decreases
high and low signal (too few lines of K- 2. Decrease pixel size SNR
Usually phase • High and low intensity bands space)
RF Artifact/RF Noise • RF lines will run parallel to • RF interference entering 1. Remove electronic
(Zipper Artifact) phase direction room objects
perpendicular to the 2. Maintain proper
Frequency frequency direction humidity in room
• Looks like a zipper 3. Call engineer
• Alternating light and dark
Magnetic Susceptibility • Distortion of image and • Ferromagnetic metal 1. Thorough screening
voids of signal such as braces, screws, 2. Use SE or TSE (rather
Frequency and Phase pins than GE)
• Natural iron of 3. Increase bandwidth Decreases SNR and
haemorrhage Decrease min TE
Artefact Summary
Artifact Appearance Cause Remedies Effect of Remedy

Partial Volume Effect • Inhomogeneous signal • Different anatomical 1. Reduce pixel size
• More pronounced in structures with
Phase and Frequency area of body where different signals in
large difference in same pixel
signals
Chemical Shift • Dark edge at interface • Different chemical 1. Get rid of fat (fat
between water and fat enviroments of suppression techs.)
Frequency (i.e. Eyes, vertebral end fat/water 2. Lower field strength
plates, kidneys) • Lower bandwidth 3. Increase bandwidth Increase min TE
• Dark and bright band • Strong mag. Field 4. Larger pixels
at opposite sides of • Increase in matrix 5. Swap phase/freq.
structure 6. Long TE(causes more
dephasing less signal
from fat)
Chemical shift 2nd kind/ • Dark ring around • When fat and water 1. Select a TE to ensure Note: Different values
Out of phase artifact certain tissue where are out of phase with image is in phase from different book
fat/water interface in one another and (multiples of 4.2 or
Phase and frequency same voxel their signals cancel 4.5s)
out 2. Use SE (not GE)
Cross Excitation • Adjacent slices have • Adjacent slices 1. Ensure at lease 30%
different image receive RF energy gap between slices
Slice Direction contrasts from neighbours
• Nuclei become
saturated
Artefact Summary
Artefact Appearance Cause Remedies Effect of Remedy

Magic Angle • High signal intensity • When tendon lies 1. Increase TE

within certain tendons exactly 55deg to main 2. Change angle of
Frequency and Phase magnetic field anatomy
• Short TE (high signal in
collagen)
Moire Artifact • Zebra lines at edge of FOV • Combination of wrap 1. Use SE
(Zebra Effect) • Always seen in GRE when and field 2. Keep patient’s arms
large FOV used inhomogeneities within FOV and off
Frequency & Phase side of magnet
Slice Overlap/Cross • Loss of signal seen in • If slices are not 1. Alter angulation of
Talk image from multi-angle or parallel there is a risk slice groups
multi-slice acquisition they will overlap
• Common in lumbar
spine
What is in the TR box (what affects TR value)?

Increase
number
Add fat
of Slices TR Box Saturation
Factors
affecting
TR Value

TR
Add a
concatenations

*Concatenations split the number of slices into groups and acquire the data in an interleaved method, allowing you to reduce the TR to
meet the expected range
Used with T1 weighted sequences to remain under 700ms and breathe hold sequences to reduce scan time
 Specialized Imaging
• MRA
• Fat Saturation and Suppression
• Parallel Imaging Technique
• Perfusion Imaging
• Spectroscopy
• Diffusion Weighted Imaging
Special Pulse Sequences – MRA
MR Angiography Looks exclusively at blood vessels in body

Types - GRE Time of Flight (TOF-MRA) – 2D Slice by Slice, 3D Volume

• High contrast between stationary (saturated) and flowing (hyperintense) nuclei
• 2D has slow flow and wide coverage ex. carotids
• 3D has high resolution of small vessels with high velocity ex. COW
• Parameters, TR 45 ms, TE short, FA 60

Phase Contrast (PC-MRA) – 2D or 3D

• Generates contrast using the phase difference between stationary and flowing spins
• Provides information on vascular anatomy, flow direction and velocity
• Useful venous sinus thrombosis SSS

Contrast Enhanced MRA (CE-MRA)

• Uses T1 3D incoherent GRE, followed by bolus injection of gad, and dynamic imaging
• Images acquired before, during and after injection and timed to arterial , intermediate and
venous phases of vascular cycle

Description • Uses gradient echo sequences to obtain high contrast images of flowing vessels
• Suppresses signal from stationery nuclei
• There are various techniques for imaging;
1. Black blood imaging – vessels are hypointense vs surrounding tissues, uses pre-sat pulses to
diminish signal from in-flowing blood. However SAT bands increase SAR (which reduces
number of slices) Nuclei in blood becomes saturated and appears black on image. Spin-Echo
with pre-sat
2. Bright blood imaging – vessels and flowing blood are hyperintense, good for slow-flowing
vessels. Gradient Echo with Gradient motion nulling

Advantages • Patient doesn’t have to undergo more invasive conventional angiography testing
• Shows direct relationship between flow and surrounding tissues
 Special Pulse Sequences – MRA

MR Angiography Looks exclusively at blood vessels in body

cont..
Uses Used to detect disease in;
- Intracranial arteries
- Aorta
- Blood vessels (supplying kidneys, heart, lungs and legs)
- Arterial aneurism screening (with family history)

Artifacts (& Compensation) In order to reduce artifacts in MRA, 3 techniques are used;
1. Even Echo Rephasing – Flowing nuclei are out-of-phase at 1st echo are are in-phase at 2nd echo. Can
be used to reduce in T2 images
2. Gradient Moment Rephasing/flow comp – Compensates for altered phase values of nuclei flowing
along gradient. Additional gradients correct them back to their original values.
3. Spatial Presaturation/sat bands – Nulls signal from flowing nuclei so that effects of entry slice and
TOF are minimized.
VENC (Velocity Encoding) • VENC velocity encoding
• Strength (amplitude) and duration of VENC gradient is selected based on blood flow velocity to be
imaged
• Venous blood slower (use 10 cm/s), Arterial blood faster (use 80 cm/s)
4 Mechanisms of Flow 1. Laminar = constant
2. Spiral = spiral motion
3. Vortex = starts as laminar, but as it moves through centre of vessel speeds up, at walls is spiral
4. Turbulent = Velocity of flow fluctuates erratically

K-space Keyhole Keyhole- Fast -reduces imaging time increases temporal resolution
Used for Time Resolved MRA imaging TWIST or TRICKS
Special Pulse Sequences – MRA
MR Angiography Advantages Disadvantages
cont..
TOF • Short acquisition time • Influenced by T1 effects and can confuse hemorrhages
• Sensitive to slow flow and vessels
• Reduced sensitivity to intra-voxel dephasing • Flow within plane of field of view may be saturated
• Only see enhancement to in-coming flow or very fast
flow
PC-MRA • Sensitive to flow and velocity • Longer scan times
• Multidirectional flow within FOV • Sensitive to turbulence
• Lower intra-voxel dephasing
• Background suppression
• Can view fold direction
CE-MRA • Peripheral vascular system • Small window of error to get the images, one chance
• Gadolinium shortens the T1 of blood to image it properly.
rendering vessels bright on CE-MRA. • Need to scan when the contrast in most
• Flow-related phenomena like velocities, concentrated. Scanning too early or too late= missing
flow direction and turbulence have little or the passage of the contrast bolus, inadequate
no effect on CE-MRA. vascular visualization.
• Method of choice for evaluating most of
vascular systems, high signal to noise, • Fat suppression used
spatial resolution and not many flow- • Some patients may not be able to have gadolinium,
related artifacts. renal insufficiency/allergies.
Special Pulse Sequences – Suppression and Saturation
Suppression and Nullify signals from flowing nuclei – FAT or CSF
Saturation
Description • When we want to see less of a certain tissue
• Fat can overpower and image and it makes it difficult to see certain anatomy
• Other fluids/tissue can be nullified to highlight surrounding tissue/anatomy
Types 1. Fat Sat
• 90° pre-saturation pulse applied at precessional frequency of fat
• Excitation RF pulse flips fat nuclei into saturation but water has signal
• Increases contrast between lesion and normal tissue
2. Water Sat
• Uses precessional frequency of water
• Water nulled and fat gives off signal
• Note – We can null any tissue this way as long as pre-saturation pulse matches tissue precessional
frequency
3. SPIR
• Fat signal is nulled
• Combines fat sat and inverting mechanisms of SPIR
• Can be used with contrast
4. STIR
• Fat signal is nulled
• Uses short TI (corresponding to time of fat recovery) to null
• Do not use with contrast
• Good for musculoskeletal imaging - bright bone marrow edema
5. FLAIR
• Suppresses high CSF in T2 images
• Bright fat
• Gold standard for visualizing MS
6. Dixon’s Method (Out of phase imaging)
• Uses GRE - Carefully chosen echo times and using pixel-by-pixel algebra to calculate water only or
fat only image produced a set of 4 different sequences
Special Pulse Sequences – Suppression and Saturation
Suppression and Nullify signals from flowing nuclei – FAT or CSF
Saturation
Uses • Extremely useful in MS imaging (FLAIR)
• Differentiation/highlighting of pathologies
Advantages • Pre-saturation is useful in reducing artifacts such as phase mis-mapping and aliasing
• Sensitive to pathology
• Good image quality
Disadvantages • Increases RF to patient
• Sensitive to magnetic field inhomogeneities
• Increased time
Special Pulse Sequences – Diffusion Weighted Imaging
Diffusion Weighted Maps the motion of water molecules
Imaging (DWI)
Description • Determines the interaction of water molecules in various tissues
• Images allow for visualization of small detail
• Can indicate normal or abnormal tissue and identify pathologies
• It can show changes in tissue within minutes of issue as opposed to several days
How it works • Abnormal tissue generate a reduced response = hyper-intense on image
• Normal tissue generate a more rapid response = hypo-intense on image
• The movement of these tissues in a voxel are recorded and the image shows the degree to which a
molecule has moved in the area
• Therefore, we can see restrictions in flow based on directional changes due to several pathologies (ie
tumor or infarction)
• The degree of diffusion weighting depends on 1) gradient amplitude 2) application time 3) time
between gradients
Images obtained;
1. Diffusion or Trace Images = show damaged tissue with restricted diffusion (restricted tissue hyper-
intense)
2. ADC maps = post-processing that calculates a value for each voxel and assigns a corresponding signal
ADC maps used to intensity (restricted tissue hypo-intense- black)
eliminate T2 shine 3. B-values – Indicated the amount of restricted diffusion 0-1000 the higher the B-value the more likely
through to demonstrate restricted diffusion
Uses • Becoming routine protocol in many clinics for neuro-imaging
• Early identification/diagnosis of ischemic stroke
• Differentiation of acute versus chronic stroke
• MS active plaques
• Useful for visualizing tumors, lesions, cysts, and infarctions
• Can be used with any sequence – SE EPI is preferred as it is fast and limits potential for motion artifact
• Useful in imaging liver pathologies
Advantages • Can see changes in tissue within minutes of issue (i.e. Infarct, stroke)
• Can help differentiate benign lesions from malignant tumors
Disadvantages • Can only see “acute” lesions because water diffusion will decrease after several days after stroke
Special Pulse Sequences – Diffusion Tensor Imaging DTI
Diffusion Tensor Advanced form of diffusion imaging that quantitates the anisotrophy of white matter
imaging (DTI)
Description • An advanced form of diffusion imaging that can assess the anisotrophy (a property that is different
along the three axes of the image) using multiple gradients.

How it works • DTI is measured ADC does not depend on the specific orientation of the X,Y,Z gradients
• Modifications made so that the z-axis corresponds to the direction of diffusion
• Minimum of 6 gradient pulses applied
• Diffusion of water in three directions is measures and averages

Uses • Shows the orientation & integrity of white matter in images

• Multiple sclerosis
• Coronary arteries
• Diffuse axonal injury
• Gliosis
• Abnormal white matter

Advantages

Disadvantages
Special Pulse Sequences – Perfusion Imaging
Perfusion Imaging Acquires information about volume and flow of blood in and out of tissue
Description • Measures quality of vascular supply
• Gives indications about metabolism and tissue activity
• High rates of perfusion are bright
• Low areas of perfusion are dark
• Provides temporal resolution of enhancing lesions and indicates activity
How it works • Tags water molecules in arterial blood
• Tagging happens with either;
• Contrast
• Saturating blood protons with inversion or saturation techniques
• Fasts imaging techniques need to be utilized because delta is small between tagged and untagged
molecules
• Imaging techniques used are; GRE-EPI, Fast GRE, Ultrafast T2 or T2*
Uses • Ischemia
• Identify tumor from healthy tissue
• Body metabolism analysis
• Visceral structures such as kidney, liver and spleen
• Evaluation of brain tumors, ischemic strokes, vasculopathies, vasospasm, coronary atherosclerosis

Advantages • Flowing blood is hyperintense

• Scan time is 100ms or less
• No motion artifact
• Study the function (not just anatomy) of tissue
Disadvantages • Fat suppression is required due to increase in chemical shift
• Rapid switching of gradients can cause PNS
• Loud sequences
Special Pulse Sequences – Parallel Imaging Technique
Parallel Imaging Reduction in scan time
Description • Also called sensitivity encoding. Uses SENSE and GRAPPA

• Fills K-space more efficiently than conventional imaging

• Fills multiple lines of K-space per TR (like FSE)
• However, the lines are acquired by assigning them to special coils that allow for simultaneous
acquisition (typically 2,4,6 or 8 coils are used)
• It under-samples signal to same time
How it works • In a 4 coil configuration
• coil 1 acquires data for line 1 of k-space and every 4th line after
• coil 2 acquires data for line 2 of k-space and every 4th line after
• Etc..
• Therefore, for every TR, 4 lines of k-space fill
• Process is repeated until all lines are filled
• Scan time is reduced by 4 if 4 lines are obtained at once (example) = reduction or acceleration factor
• Any wrapping or aliasing that would occur (due to the decrease in phase direction FOV), is corrected
using algorithms
Uses • Reduce scan time
• Improve resolution
• Can be used with most pulse sequences
Drawbacks • Slight loss of SNR
• Chemical shift may increase
• More sensitive to patient movement because of under-sampling
 Special Pulse Sequences – MR Elastography

MR Elastography

Description • Non-invasive technique that uses a mechanical wave generator to a modified phase-sensitive
magnetic resonance imaging sequence
• The combined MRI imaging and low frequency vibrations to create a visual map that detects
stiffness of body tissues

How it works • Diseases such as cancer/fibrosis have increased stiffness when palpated
• MRE uses non-invasive techniques to generate quantitative stiffness results to follow disease
• Shear waves are captured by the MRI imaging; waves travel fast in stiffer tissues the wave
amplitude is decreases in stiffer tissues
• Mechanical actuators produces compressions perpendicular to the skin surface and then
converted to transverse shear waves

Uses • MRE applied to several other organ systems

• Detects stiffening in the liver caused my fibrosis
• Inflammation or chronic liver disease
• Determines the stiffness in various regions in the body
Special Pulse Sequences – Spectroscopy
Spectroscopy Measures biochemical changes in brain
Description • MRS compares chemical composition of normal brain tissue with abnormal tissue (ie. Tumor)
• Can differentiate between tumor types by comparing the chemical composition of tissue with the
frequency of metabolites such as amino acids, lipids, lactate, choline, creatine, etc..
How it works • Metabolites are measures in ppm and plotted on graphs
• The peaks show signal intensity and can be compared to “normal” tissue to identify type of tissue
present
• The intensity represents the concentration of a particular metabolite
• A short TE will show all metabolites and should be used for initial diagnosis (baseline)
Uses • Tumor metabolism
• Detects tissue changes in stroke and epilepsy
Advantages • Non-invasive
• Measurement of multiple metabolic pathways and function at once
Disadvantages • Many radiologists do not have expertise to read/interpret graphs
• Long acquisition times
• Low SNR
• Intra-voxel signal contamination
Special Pulse Sequences – Functional MRI (FMRI)

fMRI

Description • FMRI uses MRI imaging to analyze metabolic changes that take place in an
active part of the brain
• FMRI assists radiologists in determining what part of the brain may be
compromised with illness/trauma
• FMRI allows the radiologists/surgeons to plan surgeries based on the
location of the tumor/illness and areas that may be a risk (speech, vision,
memory)
How it works • Patient will lay on the sliding table with a brace to help keep the head still
• The patient will be asked to perform a variety of small tasks (tapping
finger/answering questions)
• fMRI detects abnormalities that may be obscured from bone tissue
• Analyzes the fast changes that take place with clear and detailed pictures

Uses • Brain abnormalities related to dementia or seizures

• Identifying and monitoring brain tumors
• Chronic disorders of the nervous system
• Can assist on the effects of stroke, trauma or degenerative disease
MRI Acronyms

Handbook of mri techque Retrieved from:https://www.book-ebooks.com/products/reading-

epub/product-id/814777/title/Handbook+of+MRI+Technique.html