MRI - Relaxation

9 important questions on MRI - Relaxation

What is the TR time?

Time between different 90 degree RF pulses.

Is contrast obtained because of proton densities?

No.
Different soft tissues have about the same amount of water. So there would be not much of contrast. It is more about other element in the tissue that disrupt the relaxation period.

What is T2 relaxation? (2)

Loss of 63% of transverse magnetization.
  • So this means that they will spin out of phase more and more + changes in frequency over time.
This doesn't mean that there is a gain of longitudinal magnetization.
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T2 is a time constant (exponentially). So a low T2 means?

Fast decay.

Name three facts about T1 and T2 relaxation.

− different for all tissues
− different in magnitude
− change with field strengths

What is T1 relaxation? What is important to remember when thinking about T1 relaxation?

Gain of 63% of longitudinal magnetization => so in the direction of the main magnetic field.
The longitudinal magnetization vector (amplitude) determines the transverse magnetization vector (amplitude).

Which type of relaxation takes longer time (in structural tissue)? And what does this mean?

T1 takes more time.
T2 signal is completely gone, while T1 relaxation is not there yet (not yet significant)

Why can a signal after the first pulse never be T1-weighted?

T1 takes more time than T2.
With the first pulse they all become into phase and are able to send out a signal. Before that they don't all have the same vector based on the same starting point.

What is the color of a tissue with a short T1 time in a T1 weighted image?

White. So short time to fully get back longitudinal signal. So a bright spot when you echo directly after RF pulse.

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