Gradient Echo MRI

Kyung Sung, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Radiology
Magnetic Resonance Research Labs

Review of Spin Echo MRI

 SNR vs Resolution vs Scan Time

High
SNR

Sharp Fast
Images Scans

Coils, field strength,

pulse sequence
affect starting point!

T1 Contrast
Short Repetition Long Repetition

White/Gray Matter
Signal

Signal

Time CSF Time

 T2 Contrast
Short Echo-Time Long Echo-Time

CSF
Signal

White/Gray Matter

Time

T2*<T2 (always!)
1
Transverse Magnetization [a.u.]

0.8
White Matter T2
0.6 White Matter T*2

0.4

0.2

0
0 200 400 600 800 1000
Time [ms]
 T1 Shortening Agents
100

Percent Signal [a.u.]

75

Increasing
50 Contrast
Dose

25

00
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000
Decay Time [ms]

Increasing dose of a T1 shortening agent increases signal, but

too much contrast is unsafe and will compromise image quality.

Spin Echo Contrast

⇣ ⌘
AEcho / ⇢ 1 e T R/T1
e T E/T2

Longer TR Short TE
minimizes minimizes
T1 contrast T2 contrast

Intermediate TR Intermediate TE
maximizes maximizes
T1 contrast T2 contrast

Spin Echo Parameters

TE TR
Spin Density Short Long
T1-Weighted Short Intermediate
T2-Weighted Intermediate Long
 Spin Echo
180°
90° 90°

RF
TR
TE
GSlice

Wasted Time
GPhase

GReadout

Signal

Turbo Spin Echo (TSE)

180° 180° 180°
90°

RF

GSlice

GPhase

GReadout

Signal
Echo-1 Echo-2 Echo-3
 Turbo Spin Echo vs. Spin Echo
Fast Spin Echo Spin Echo

TR = 2500 TR = 2500
TE = 116 TE = 112
ETL = 16 ETL = N/A
NEX = 2 NEX = 1
24 slices 24 slices
17 slices/pass 20 slices/pass
2 passes 2 passes
Time = 2:51 Time = 22:21

Shorter scan time.

More T2-weighted.
Fat is brighter.
Higher SAR.
Images: Courtesy Frank Korosec

MRI Acronyms

Siemens GE Phillips Toshiba Hitachi

Turbo spin echo/

TSE FSE TSE FSE FSE
Fast spin echo

Single-shot Single-shot Single-shot

Single-shot TSE HASTE FASE
FSE FSE FSE

3D TSE with
SPACE CUBE VISTA mVox
variable flip angle
 Relaxation - True or False?

1. T2* > T2 > T1

2. Long T1s appear bright on a T1-weighted image

3. Short T2s appear dark on a T2-weighted image

Relaxation - True or False?

1. T2* > T2 > T1

2. Long T1s appear bright on a T1-weighted image

3. Short T2s appear dark on a T2-weighted image

Signal

Signal

Time Time
 Relaxation - True or False?

1. T1(CSF) > T1(Gray Matter)

2. T2(Liver) < T2(Fat)

Relaxation - True or False?

1. T1(CSF) > T1(Gray Matter)

2. T2(Liver) < T2(Fat)

Tissue T1 [ms] T2 [ms]

gray matter 925 100
white matter 790 92
muscle 875 47
fat 260 85
kidney 650 58
liver 500 43
CSF 2400 180
Quiz: Contrast Agents - True or False?

1. Gadolinium-based agents act to

lengthen T1.

2. MRI contrast agents are widely

considered very safe.

Spin Echoes - True or False?

1. The 90-180 pair is the hallmark of the spin echo
sequence.

2. The 180 pulse is an inversion pulse.

3. Spin echoes are ultrafast sequences that provide

T1 or T2* weighted images.
 Spin Echoes - True or False?
1. The 90-180 pair is the hallmark of the spin echo
sequence.

2. The 180 pulse is an inversion pulse.

3. Spin echoes are ultrafast sequences that provide

T1 or T2* weighted images.

90° 180° TR
RF

TE

Spin Echoes - True or False?

1. Long TE and long TR for T2-weighted.

2. Short TE and short TR for T1-weighted.

3. Spin echoes are low SAR sequences.

 Spin Echoes - True or False?
1. Long TE and long TR for T2-weighted.

2. Short TE and short TR for T1-weighted.

3. Spin echoes are low SAR sequences.

⇣ ⌘
AEcho / ⇢ 1 e T R/T1
e T E/T2

Longer TR Short TE
minimizes minimizes
T1 contrast T2 contrast

Multi-Echo Imaging - True or False?

1. Multi-echo imaging can decrease
scan times by 2x or more.

2. Turbo spin echo is excellent for

fast T2-weighted imaging.

3. Spin Echo EPI is routine for

diffusion weighted imaging.
 Fast Imaging - True or False?
1. Long TRs are important for T2
weighted imaging because they
eliminate T1-contrast.

2. Slice interleaving is better suited

for T2-weighted imaging than T1-
weighted.

3. Multi-echo imaging can be

combined with multi-slice imaging.

Gradient Echo Imaging

 Gradient Echo Sequences

• Spoiled Gradient Echo

– SPGR, FLASH, T1-FFE

• Balanced Steady-State Free Precession

– TrueFISP, FIESTA, Balanced FFE

Principal GRE Advantages

• Fast Imaging Applications
– Why? Can use a shorter TE/TR than spin echo
– When? Breath-held, realtime, & 3D volume imaging

• Flexible image contrast

– Why? Adjusting TE/TR/FA controls the signal
– When? Characterize a tissue for diagnosis

• Bright blood signal

– Why? Inflowing spins haven’t “seen” numerous RF pulses
– When? Cardiovascular & angiographic applications

• Low SAR
– Why? Imaging flip angles are (typically) small
– When? When heating risks are a concern
 Principal GRE Advantages
• Quantitative
– Why? Multi-echo acquisition are practical.
– When? Flow quantification & Fat/Water mapping

• Susceptibility Weighted Imaging

– Why? No refocusing pulse.
– When? T2*-weighted (hemorrhage) imaging

• Reduced Slice Cross-talk

– Why? SE hard to match slice profile of 90° & 180°
– When? Little or no slice gap for 2D multi-slice

• More...

Principal GRE Disadvantages

• Off-resonance sensitivity
– Why? No refocusing pulse
• Field inhomogeneity, Susceptibility, & Chemical shift

• T2*-weighted rather than T2-weighted

– Why? No re-focusing pulse
• Spin-spin dephasing is not reversible with GRE

• Larger metal artifacts than SE

– Why? No refocusing pulse.
• Large field inhomogeneities aren’t corrected with GRE
 Basic Gradient Echo Sequence

• FID Decay due to

RF
– T2 decay
– Spin dephasing
Free Induction Decay (FID)
Slice
Select

Phase
Encode

Freq.
Encode

Basic Gradient Echo Sequence

• FID Decay due to

RF
– T2 decay
– Spin dephasing
Free Induction Decay (FID)
Slice
Select • Gradients
accelerate spin
dephasing
Phase
Encode

Freq.
Encode
 Basic Gradient Echo Sequence

• FID Decay due to

RF
– T2 decay
– Spin dephasing
Free Induction Decay (FID)
Slice
Select • Gradients
accelerate spin
dephasing
Phase
Encode
• Gradients can undo
gradient induced
Freq.
Encode spin dephasing

Basic Gradient Echo Sequence

• FID Decay due to

RF
– T2 decay
Gradient Echo! – Spin dephasing
Slice
Select • Gradients
accelerate spin
dephasing
Phase
Encode
• Gradients can undo
gradient induced
Freq.
Encode spin dephasing
 Basic Gradient Echo Sequence
TR
TE

RF

Slice
Select

Phase
Encode

Freq.
Encode

Basic Gradient Echo Sequence

TR
TE

RF

Freq.
Encode
 T2 versus T2*
T2 Decay T2* Decay

My My
Coil

Coil
Mx Mx

Signal loss from spin-spin interaction. Signal loss from spin-spin interaction and
off-resonance dephasing and T2*.

T2* is signal loss from spin dephasing and T2

T2*<T2 (always!)
1
Transverse Magnetization [a.u.]

0.8
White Matter T2
0.6 White Matter T*2

0.4

0.2

0
0 200 400 600 800 1000
Time [ms]
SE vs. GRE: B0 Inhomogeneity
• Images acquired with a bad shim
- Poor B0 homogeneity (lots of off-resonance)

Spin Echo Gradient Echo

Images Courtesy of http://chickscope.beckman.uiuc.edu/

roosts/carl/artifacts.html

Gradient vs. Spin Echo

A. B.

Which image is a gradient echo image?

Images Courtesy of Brian Hargreaves

 Gradient vs. Spin Echo

A. Spin Echo B. Gradient Echo

Both are T1-weighted
Spin Echo has higher SNR (longer TR)
GRE has shorter TE (meniscus/tendon is brighter)

Images Courtesy of Brian Hargreaves

Gradient Echoes & Contrast

Spoiled Gradient Echo Contrast
Contrast depends on tissue’s ρ, T1 and T2*.

⇢ 1 e T R/T1 T E/T2⇤
Aecho / sin ↵e
1 cos ↵e T R/T1

Contrast adjusted by changing TR, flip angle, and TE

Spoiled Gradient Echo Contrast

Gradient Echo Parameters
Type of Contrast TE TR Flip Angle
Spin Density Short Long Small
T1-Weighted Short Intermediate Large
T2*-Weighted Intermediate Long Small
 T2*-weighted Gradient Echo MRI
FLASH – TE=4.8ms; TR=200ms FLASH – TE=14.2ms; TR=200ms FLASH – TE=24ms; TR=200ms FLASH – TE=49ms; TR=200ms

Synovial Fluid T2~1210ms

Subcutaneous Fat
Mxy
T2~165ms
Muscle T2~35ms

0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500

Time [ms]
Musculoskeletal MRI at 3.0 T: relaxation times and image contrast. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2004 Aug;183(2):343-51.

T2*-weighted Gradient Echo MRI

TE=9ms TE=30ms
Susceptibility Weighting (darker with longer TE)
Bright fluid signal (long T2* is "brighter" with longer TE)
Images Courtesy of Brian Hargreaves
Gradient vs Spin Echo Contrast
Gradient Echo Parameters
Type of Contrast TE TR Flip Angle
Spin Density <5ms >100ms <10°
T1-Weighted <5ms <50ms >30°
T2*-Weighted >20ms >100ms <10°

Spin Echo Parameters

Type of Contrast TE TR Flip Angle
Spin Density 10-30ms >2000ms 90+180
T1-Weighted 10-30ms 450-850ms 90+180
T2-Weighted >60ms >2000ms 90+180

Gradient Echo Imaging...

Gradient echo imaging is great for everything
except:

A. T2*-weighted imaging.

B. T2-weighted imaging.

C. True 3D imaging.

D. Real time imaging.

 Gradient Echo Imaging...
Gradient echo imaging is great for everything
except:

A. T2*-weighted imaging
Yes. GRE can be a T2*-weighted sequence.
B. T2-weighted imaging
No. GRE can not be T2-weighted
C. True 3D imaging
Yes! GRE is a fast sequence
D. Real time imaging
Yes! GRE is a fast sequence

Gradient Echo Imaging...

A. ...is great for T2 imaging

B. ...works well for imaging near metal implants

C. ...is a fast acquisition technique

D. ...is insensitive to off-resonance effects

 Gradient Echo Imaging...
A. ...is great for T2 imaging
GRE is sensitive to T2*, whereas SE is sensitive to
T2
B. ...works well for imaging near metal implants
Metal causes large distortions for which SE is
useful
C. ...is a fast acquisition technique
Yes! The TE/TR are typically quite short compared
to SE
D. ...is insensitive to off-resonance effects.
GRE is sensitive to B0 inhomogeneity, chemical
shift and susceptibility shifts

Gradient Echoes - True or False?

1. GRE sequences have longer TRs
than SE sequences.
2. GRE is great for fast T1-weighted
imaging.
3. Metal artifacts on GRE are typically
small.
4. GRE is great for T2 contrast.
 Gradient Echoes & Flip Angle

Spoiled GRE & Ernst Angle

TR
⇥
Ernst = arccos e T1

Produces the largest MRI signal for a given TR and T1

Tissue T1 [ms] T2 [ms]

muscle 875 47
fat 260 85
 Spoiled GRE & Ernst Angle
Fat
Muscle
Contrast
MRI Signal [A.U.]

10° 20° 30° 40° 50° 60° 70° 80° 90°

Flip Angle

Spoiled GRE & Ernst Angle

1° 5° 10° 20°
High Muscle Signal High Fat Signal

30° 45° 60° 90°

Highest Contrast
 In Gradient Echo Imaging
Always...

A. Use the highest available flip angle.

B. Calculate and use the Ernst angle.

C. Use a flip angle for maximum contrast.

In Gradient Echo Imaging

Always...

A. Use the highest available flip angle.

B. Calculate and use the Ernst angle.

C. Use a flip angle for maximum contrast.

 Gradient Echoes - True or False?
1. GRE and SE can both provide T2*
contrast.
2. GRE and SE use the same TE and
TR to produce a T1-weighted image.
3. SE is better for visualizing tissues
with a very short T2 because of the
refocusing pulses.
4. In GRE higher flip angles always
produce brighter images.

Gradient Echoes & Flow

Principle of In-flow Enhancement
• Partial saturation of stationary
tissue
– If TR<<T1, tissue can’t fully
relax each TR
• Inflow of fully relaxed spins
– These spins haven’t seen
an RF pulse Time-of-flight uses In-flow
• In combination high contrast Enhancement and MIPs to
visualize the vasculature.
is achieved

Principle of In-flow Enhancement

Inflow
Effects
Fat [T1/T2]=260/85 ms
Signal Amplitude [A.U.]

Muscle [T1/T2]=875/47 ms

Steady-state
Effects

Fat
Muscle
1 48 96 144 192
Number of RF Pulses
 Principle of In-flow Enhancement
artery
In Flowing Spins (Blood)
Are Exposed To Fewer RF Pulses
and Appear Brighter

RF Pulses Excite A Slice

Tissues Exposed to Many

RF Pulses Get Saturated (Darker)
This is typical of most tissues in all typical MR images.

Spatial Pre-saturation
Venous Sat
artery vein

imaging
volume

saturation
band

Saturation bands suppress tissue signals.

 Spatial Pre-saturation
Venous Sat Arterial Sat
artery vein artery vein

imaging saturation
volume band

saturation imaging
band volume

Saturation bands can suppress arterial or venous

flow.

Spatial Pre-saturation

no sat arterial sat

venous sat parallel sat

 Gradient Echoes & Spoiling

Spoiling - Why?
• Eliminates Mxy at end of each TR
– Prevents cumulative errors
• Shortens the TR
– Without spoilers have to wait 5x T2*
– Faster imaging
• Enhances T1 contrast
 Spoiling - How?
• Long TR
– Choose TR 4-5x T2*
• Gradient spoiling
– Applied at end of TR
– Dephases spins within voxel
• RF spoiling
– Cycle the phase of the RF pulse
– Minimizes coherent signal pathways

Gradient Echo + Spoiling

RF Phase
Cycling

RF
Spoiler
Gradient
Slice
Select

Phase
Encode

Freq.
Encode
 MRI Acronyms

Siemens GE Phillips Toshiba Hitachi

Spoiled Gradient
FLASH SPGR T1-FFE T1-GGE RSSG
Echo

Balanced Steady-
Balanced
State Free TrueFISP FIESTA True SSFP BASG
FFE
Precession

Gradient Echoes - True or False?

1. Echoes are needed because the FID
disappears too quickly.
2. GRE is less sensitive to off-
resonance than spin echo imaging.
3. GRE uses a refocusing pulse to form
an echo.
4. Gradient and RF spoiling enable
faster imaging.
 Gradient Echoes & Fat

Chemical Shift - Type 1

• Fat and water have
different Larmor
frequencies
– ~220Hz different at 1.5T
– ~440Hz different at 3.0T
• Spatial position is related to spin
frequency in MRI.
“water” fat
– Fat is more spatially
mis-registered @ 3T

Chemical Shift – Fat (–CH2) is ~220Hz lower at 1.5T

Image Courtesy of Brian Hargreaves

 GRE & Fat/Water Frequency

B0

Water Spins in a Uniform Field

Water spins precess at the same Larmor frequency in a uniform B0 field.

GRE & Fat/Water Frequency

+Gx•x

B0
-Gx•x

Water Spins in a Gradient Field

Water spins precess at different Larmor frequencies in a non-uniform B0 field.
 GRE & Fat/Water Frequency
+Gx•x

B0
-Gx•x

x
Water & Fat Spins in a Gradient Field
Fat Spins ~220Hz slower than water @ 1.5T
Spatial position is inferred from Larmor frequency.
Chemical (frequency) shift produces and apparent spatial shift.

GRE & Fat/Water Frequency

+Gx•x

B0
-Gx•x

Signal Signal
Overlap Voids
 GRE and Bandwidth
+2Gx•x

B0
-2Gx•x

Higher bandwidths use stronger gradients and result in larger frequency differences along x.
Chemical shift (frequency) is fixed for B0, therefore chemical shift (∆x) is a smaller percentage.

GRE and Bandwidth

+2Gx•x

B0
-2Gx•x

Signal Signal
Overlap Voids
High bandwidth scans have less chemical shift.
 GRE, Fat/Water & Bandwidth
Low Bandwidth High Bandwidth

• High Bandwidth
– Less chemical shift
– Lower SNR
Pile-Up – Short TE/TR
• Low Bandwidth
– More chemical shift
– Higher SNR
– Longer TE/TR
Void

Acquisition bandwidth is related to the speed with which an echo is acquired.

If the bandwidth (speed) is high, then there is less time for chemical shift, less time for
signal acquisition (lower SNR), and a shorter TE/TR.

Chemical Shift - Type 2

• Pixels are frequently a mixture of fat and water
• Pixel intensity is the vector sum of fat and
water

Fat Water
In-Phase Opposed-Phase
+ >0 + =0
The TE controls the phase between fat and water.
 GRE and Fat/Water Phase
In-Phase Opposed-Phase

Dual-Echo Acquisition

α Out-of-
Phase
RF
GX

In-Phase
GY
In-phase and Out-of-phase
Example: 3 T abdominal scan

Out-of-phase (3 T), TE = 1.3 ms In-phase (3 T), TE = 2.6 ms

IP
Water Water

Fat
OP Fat

2-Point Dixon
Example: 3 T abdominal scan

In-phase (3T), TE = 2.6 ms Out-of-phase (3T), TE = 1.3 ms

Water Fat
 Which image is the in-phase
image?

A. B.
Images Courtesy of Scott Reeder

Which image is the in-phase

image?

A. B.
In-Phase Opposed-Phase
Images Courtesy of Scott Reeder
 Gradient Echoes - True or False?
1. Fat and water precess at frequencies
that are >1000Hz different.
2. Fat and water are always out of
phase.
3. Fat and water destructively interfere
when they are in phase.
4. In-flowing spins are bright because
they “see” hundreds of excitation
pulses.

Gradient Echo – Summary

• Advantages
– Fast Imaging Applications
– Flexible contrast (T1 or T2*)

• Disadvantages
– Off-resonance sensitivity
– T2*-weighted rather than T2-weighted
 Thanks
Kyung Sung, PhD
ksung@mednet.ucla.edu
http://mrrl.ucla.edu/sunglab/

Images/Slides Courtesy of
Daniel Ennis, Ph.D.