Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
IMAGING
Abbreviations
Z
Y
PROTON
ELECTRON
MAGNETIC MOMENT
(NMV)
- Mz increases with the field strength.
no external magnetic field present, spins rotate about their axes in random
ction (a). In the presence of a magnetic field, slightly more spins align parallel
he main magnetic field, B0, and thus produce longitudinal magnetization, Mz (b)
ulse (c) tips the magnetization vector by exactly 90, causing the entire longitud
netization to flip over and rotate into transverse magnetization, Mxy (d)
Relaxation
1.spin-lattice interaction
2. spin-spin interaction.
Thesetwo processes cause T1
relaxation and T2 relaxation,
respectively
T1: Longitudinal
Relaxation
T2/T2*: Transverse
Relaxation
se. Vector B has a phase of +10 relative to A while C has a phase of 30.
e that all vectors rotate about the z-axis while their phases differ by the respecti
les
ase. Vector B has a phase of +10 relative to A while C has a phase of 30.
te that all vectors rotate about the z-axis while their phases differ by the respect
gles
2 and T2* relaxation. Spins get out of phase (lose phase coherence), resulting in
he loss of transverse magnetization without energy dissipation
Image Contrast
REMEMBER:
Short TR strong T1 weighting
Long TR low T1 weighting
Relative proton densities (%) and intrinsic T1 and T2 times (in msec) of different
issues
EQUILIBRIUM
TIME
A smaller flip angle does not deflect the magnetization all the way
through. Mechanism of saturation. With a very short TR, the
longitudinal magnetization, Mz, that will recover in the interval and
be available for subsequent excitation decreases after each RF
pulse. In the example shown, the TR is so short that slightly less
than half of the original longitudinal magnetization can regrow
before the next excitation pulse is deliveredF. Longitudinal
magnetization at short repetition time. After repeat excitation at
very short intervals, the amount of longitudinal magnetization, Mz,
restored after each pulse settles at a low level (equilibrium or
steady state). In this situation, the individual MR signals that form
after each excitation are very weak 90 but only by some
fraction of 90 (e.g. 30). As a result there is less transverse
magnetization and the individual MR signals are smaller while more
longitudinal magnetization is available for subsequent excitation
even if TR is very short. However, the overall signal is larger than
the one obtained with a 90 flip angle.
Ernst angle.
PHASE ENCODING
a gradient in the y-direction (from top to
bottom) is switched on after the spins have
been excited and precess in the xy-plane.
Such a phase-encoding gradient alters the
Larmor frequencies of the spins according to
their location along the gradient. As a result,
the excited spins higher up in the scanner
experience a stronger magnetic field and thus
gain phase relative to the somewhat slower
spins further down. The result is a phase
shift of the spins relative to each other
quency encoding by means of the x-gradient. With the gradient switched off
t), only a single frequency is received, the Larmor frequency 0. With the gradie
tched on (right), a frequency spectrum is received with each column being ident
ts unique frequency
Fourier transform
(or frequency analysis)
This mathematical operation serves to
identify the individual frequencies that
make up a signal.
K-Space
Data collected from the signals is
stored in a mathematical area known
as k-space.
pace. kx is the frequency axis, ky the phase axis. The data from each measurem
s a different horizontal line
Effect of the FOV on pixel size with the matrix size held constant
A smaller matrix size with the FOV held constant results in larger pixels and
thus a poorer spatial resolution
Number of Excitations
The number of excitations (NEX) or
number of signal averages (NSA)
denotes how many times a signal from
a given slice is measured. The SNR,
which is proportional to the square root
of the NEX, improves as the NEX
increases, but scan time also increases
linearly with the NEX.
Imaging Parameters
Other parameters affecting the SNR are
the sequence used, echo time (TE),
repetition time (TR), and the flip angle. The
SNR increases with the TR but the T1 effect
is also lost at longer TRs. Conversely, the
SNR decreases as the TE increases. With a
short TE, the T2 contrast is lost. For this
reason, the option of shortening TE to
improve SNR is available only for T1weighted sequences.
Coils
An effective means to improve SNR, without
increasing voxel size or lengthening scan time, is
selecting an appropriate radiofrequency (RF) coil. In
general, an RF coil should be as close as possible to
the anatomy being imaged and surround the target
organ. The nearer the coil can be placed to the
organ under examination, the better the resulting
signal. RF coils can be used either to transmit RF
and receive the MR signal or to act as receiver coils
only. In the latter case, excitation pulses are
delivered by the body coil. The basic coil types that
are distinguished are briefly described below.
Volume Coils
Volume coils may be used exclusively as receive
coils or as combined transmit/ receive coils.
Volume coils completely surround the anatomy to
be imaged. Two widely used volume coil
configurations are the saddle coil and the birdcage
coil. Volume coils are characterized by a
homogeneous signal quality. Another type of
volume coil is the body coil, which is an integral
part of an MR scanner and is usually located within
the bore of the magnet itself. Head and extremity
coils are further examples of volume coils.
Surface Coils
Most surface coils can only receive the
MR signal and rely on the body coil for
delivery of RF pulses. Combined
transmit/receive surface coils are also
available. Surface coils are used for
spinal MRI and imaging of small
anatomic structures.
Intracavity Coils
Intracavity coils are small local receive
coils that are inserted into body cavities
to improve image quality as a result of
the closer vicinity to the target organ. In
clinical MRI, endorectal coils are used
for imaging of the prostate and the anal
sphincter muscle. Experimental
applications include endovascular
imaging and imaging of hollow organs.
Phased-Array Coils
Phased-array coils serve to receive MR
signals. A phased-array system consists of
several independent coils connected in
parallel or series. Each coil feeds into a
separate receiver. The information from the
individual receivers is combined to create
one image. Phased-array coils yield images
with a high spatial resolution and allow
imaging with a larger field of view as they
improve both SNR and signal homogeneity.
The MR Scanner
The Magnet
Superconducting magnets
consist of a coil made of a niobium-titanium
(Nb-Ti) alloy
using coolants known as cryogens (usually
liquid helium)
Very strong and highly homogeneous
magnetic fields of up to 18 T can be
generated
95% of all MR systems used today have
superconducting magnets.
The Radiofrequency
System
The radiofrequency (RF) system
comprises a powerful RF generator
(the Larmor frequency at 1.5 T is 63.8
MHz, which is in the range of FM
transmitters) and a highly sensitive
receiver.
sequence. The excitation pulse always has a flip angle of 90; the dephased
ns are refocused into the spin echo by the 180 pulse. The dashed lines indicate t
se-encoding steps
Multislice Imaging
MR Contrast Agents
Superparamagnetic substances
have very strong paramagnetic
properties.