• Journal of radiological science and technology
• /
• v.33 no.1
• /
• pp.45-50
• /
• 2010

In this study, we compared the clinical usefulness of SPAIR (Spectral Adiabatic Inversion Recovery) and STIR (Short TI Inversion Recovery) to evaluate the fat tissues precisely. The images of brain axial (n = 20), lumber spine sagittal (n = 20), hip joint coronal (n = 17) and knee joint (n = 25) were obtained by turbo spin echo T2 weighted method on 3T magnetic resonance image. The signal intensity (SI) values were measured using region of interest in fat, muscle tissue, and background noise. The inhomogeneity values were measured using the standard deviation (SD) value divided by the mean values. SD signifies the amount of error which is similar to the imaging heterogeneity. In brain axial images, the SPAIR showed more superior SI and inhomogeneity results than the STIR. In spine, hip and knee images, STIR showed more excellent SI results, but poor inhomogeneity than the SPAIR.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
• /
• v.38 no.3
• /
• pp.253-259
• /
• 2015

The information of contrast media concentration on target organ is very important to get reduce the side effect and high contrast imaging. We investigated alternation of signal intensity as a function of the modality of Gd-based contrast media on spin echo and ultra short time echo (UTE) of T1 effective pulse sequence at 3T MRI unit. Gadoxetic acid, which is a MRI T1 contrast medium, was used to manufacture an agarose phantom diluted in various molarities, and sterile water and agarose 2% were used as the buffer solution for the dilution. The gold standard T1 calculation was based on coronal single section imaging of the phantom mid-point with 2D Inversion recovery spine-echo pulse sequence MR imaging for testing of phantom accuracy. The 1-2mmol/L and 7mmol/L was shown the maximum signal intensity on spin echo and UTE respectively. We confirm the difference of contrast media concentration which was shown the maximum signal intensity depending on the T1 effective pulse sequence.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
• /
• v.5 no.2
• /
• pp.116-122
• /
• 2001

Purpose : To find sensitivity of MRI imaging methods to slow flow phantom study was performed with conventional Spin-Echo, gradient echo based Phase Contrast, fast GRASS, and heavily T2-weighted Fast Spin Echo pulse sequences. Materials and Methods : A siphon driven flow phantom was constructed with a ventriculo-peritoneal shunt catheter and a GE phantom to achieve continuous variable flow. Four different pulse sequences including Spin-Echo, Phase Contrast, GRASS and Heavily T2-weighted Fast Spin Echo were evaluated to depict slow flow in the range from 0.08 ml/min to 1.7 ml/min and to compare signal intensities between static fluid and flowing fluid. Results : In the slow flow above 0.17 ml/min conventional Spin-Echo showed superior apparent contrast between static and flowing fluid while GRASS was more sensitive to the very slow flow below 0.17 ml/mim. It was not accurate to calculate flow and velocity below 0.1 ml/min with a modified PC imaging. Conclusion : Four different MR pulse sequences demonstrated different sensitivity to the range of slow flow from 0.08 ml/min to 1.7 ml/min. This finding may be clinically useful to measure CSF shunt flow or detecting CSF collection and thrombosis.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
• /
• v.32 no.2
• /
• pp.177-182
• /
• 2009

Purpose : This study presents the optimization of flip angle (FA) to obtain higher contrast to noise ratio (CNR) and lower specific absorption rate (SAR). Materials and Method : T1-weighted images of the cerebrum of brain were obtained from 50$^\circ$ to 130$^\circ$ FA with 10$^\circ$ interval. Signal to noise ratios (SNRs) were calculated for white matter (WM), gray matter (GM), and background noise. The proper FA was analyzed by T-test statistics and Kruskal-wallis analysis using R1 = 1- exp ($\frac{-TR}{T1}$) and Ernst angle cos $\theta$ = exp ($\frac{-TR}{T1}$). Results : The SNR of WM at 130$^\circ$ FA is approximately 1.6 times higher than the SNR of WM at 50$^\circ$. The SNR of GM at 130$^\circ$ FA is approximately 1.9 times higher than the SNR of GM at 50$^\circ$. Although the SNRs of WM and GM showed similar trends with the change of FA values, the slowdown point of decrease after linear fitting were different. While the SNR of WM started decreasing at 120$^\circ$ FA, the SNR of GM started decreasing at less than 110$^\circ$. The highest SNRs of WM and GM were obtained at 130$^\circ$ FA. The highest CNRs, however, were obtained at 80$^\circ$ FA. Conclusion : Although SNR increased with the change of FA values from 50$^\circ$ to 130$^\circ$ at 3T SE T1WI, CNR was higher at 80$^\circ$ FA than at the usually used 90$^\circ$ FA. In addition, the SAR was decreased by using smaller FA. The CNR can be increased by using this optimized FA at 3T MR SE T1WI.

• Proceedings of the KSMRM Conference
• /
• 2002.11a
• /
• pp.128-128
• /
• 2002

목적： Gamma-Variate Function을 이용하여 뇌 관류에 관련하는 새로운 재구성 영상 (CBV, CBF, MTT, TTP, BAT)을 산출할 수 있는 프로그램을 개발 및 평가 대상 및 방법： 뇌 관류와 관련한 정량적인 재구성 영상(CBV, CBF, MTT, TTP, BAT)을 얻기 위하여 Gamma-Variate Function을 이용한 Post-processing 프로그램을 개발하였다. 자기공명영상은 1.5T ＆ 3.0T Magnum (Medinus Co., Ltd.)을 사용하였으면, 개발된 프로그램 평가를 위해 스핀에코 -EPI 펄스시퀀스(TR 2000 ms, TE 80 ms, FOV 260 mm, matrix 92$\times$128)를 사용하여 관류강조영상을 획득하였다.

• Proceedings of the Korea Contents Association Conference
• /
• 2019.05a
• /
• pp.231-232
• /
• 2019

최근 압축감도 부호화라는 새로운 기술의 개발로 인하여 기존보다 더 빠른 검사시간에 자기공명영상 검사가 가능하게 되었다. 감도 부호화를 이용한 터보 스핀 에코 확산강조 자기공명영상과 비교하였을 때, 압축감도 부호화를 사용한 확산강조영상에서 영상평가와 자기공명 신호 분석을 통해 적절한 영상품질을 유지하면서, 검사시간을 줄 일수 있어 확산강조영상에서에 유용하게 사용되리라 사료된다.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
• /
• v.17 no.2
• /
• pp.133-143
• /
• 2013

Purpose : To evaluate and compare the accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasound (US) for detection and estimation of invasion depth of colorectal carcinoma (CRC) by correlation with histopathologic findings in vitro, and to find out the best MR pulse sequence for accurate delineation of tumor from surrounding normal tissue. Materials and Methods: Resected specimens of CRC from 45 patients were examined about tumor detectability and invasion depth of US using high frequency (5-17 MHz) linear transducer in a tube filled with normal saline and MRI in a 8-channel quadrate head coil. The institutional review board approved this study and informed consent was waived. MRI with seven pulse sequences of in- and out-of-phases gradient echo T1 weighted images, fast spin echo T2 weighted image and its fat suppression image, fast imaging employing steady-state acquisition (FIESTA) and its fat suppression image, and diffusion weighted image (DWI) were performed. In each case, both imaging findings of MRI and US were evaluated independently for detection and estimation of invasion depth of tumor by consensus of two radiologists and were compared about diagnostic accuracy according to the histopathologic findings as reference standard. Seven MR pulse sequences were evaluated on the point of accurate delineation of tumor from surrounding normal tissue in each specimen. Results: In specimens of CRC, both imaging modalities of MRI (91.1%) and US (86.7%) showed relatively high diagnostic accuracy to detect tumor and evaluate invasion depth of tumor. In early CRC, diagnostic accuracy of US was 87.5% and that of MRI was 75.0%. There was no statistically significant difference between two imaging modalities (p > 0.05). The best pulse sequence among seven MR sequences for accurate delineation of tumor from surrounding normal tissue in each specimen of CRC was fast spin echo T2 weighted image. Conclusion: MRI and US show relatively high diagnostic accuracy to detect tumor and evaluate invasion depth of resected specimen of CRC. The most excellent pulse sequence of MRI for accurate delineation of tumor from surrounding normal tissue in CRC is fast spin echo T2 weighted image.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
• /
• v.10 no.2
• /
• pp.108-116
• /
• 2006

Purpose : High-resolution spiral-scan imaging is performed at 3 Tesla MRI system. Since the gradient waveforms for the spiral-scan imaging have lower slopes than those for the Echo Planar Imaging (EPI), they can be implemented with the gradient systems having lower slew rates. The spiral-scan imaging also involves less eddy currents due to the smooth gradient waveforms. The spiral-scan imaging method does not suffer from high specific absorption rate (SAR), which is one of the main obstacles in high field imaging for rf echo-based fast imaging methods such as fast spin echo techniques. Thus, the spiral-scan imaging has a great potential for the high-speed imaging in high magnetic fields. In this paper, we presented various high-resolution images obtained by the spiral-scan methods at 3T MRI system for various applications. Materials and Methods : High-resolution spiral-scan imaging technique is implemented at 3T whole body MRI system. An efficient and fast higher-order shimming technique is developed to reduce the inhomogeneity, and the single-shot and interleaved spiral-scan imaging methods are developed. Spin-echo and gradient-echo based spiral-scan imaging methods are implemented, and image contrast and signal-tonoise ratio are controlled by the echo time, repetition time, and the rf flip angles. Results : Spiral-scan images having various resolutions are obtained at 3T MRI system. Since the absolute magnitude of the inhomogeneity is increasing in higher magnetic fields, higher order shimming to reduce the inhomogeneity becomes more important. A fast shimming technique in which axial, sagittal, and coronal sectional inhomogeneity maps are obtained in one scan is developed, and the shimming method based on the analysis of spherical harmonics of the inhomogeneity map is applied. For phantom and invivo head imaging, image matrix size of about $100{\times}100$ is obtained by a single-shot spiral-scan imaging, and a matrix size of $256{\times}256$ is obtained by the interleaved spiral-scan imaging with the number of interleaves of from 6 to 12. Conclusion : High field imaging becomes increasingly important due to the improved signal-to-noise ratio, larger spectral separation, and the higher BOLD-based contrast. The increasing SAR is, however, a limiting factor in high field imaging. Since the spiral-scan imaging has a very low SAR, and lower hardware requirements for the implementation of the technique compared to EPI, it is suitable for a rapid imaging in high fields. In this paper, the spiral-scan imaging with various resolutions from $100{\times}100$ to $256{\times}256$ by controlling the number of interleaves are developed for the high-speed imaging in high magnetic fields.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
• /
• v.17 no.7
• /
• pp.1115-1122
• /
• 2023

This study aimed to present reasonable reception bandwidth application standards for the purpose of suppressing metal objects during MRI examinations. For this purpose, T2 contrast images were acquired using high-speed spin echo technology on a phantom made of screws for spinal surgery, and metal objects were detected. In addition, images were obtained by increasing the reception bandwidth from 100 Hz/PX to 800 Hz/PX by 100 Hz/PX. The metal artifacts were determined as the sum of the areas of the signal attenuation area and the signal accumulation area. In addition, Pearson correlation analysis was performed to analyze the pattern of metal artifacts according to imaging variables. As a result, the signal accumulation area did not change significantly as the reception bandwidth increased (p>0.05), but the signal loss area and the area of metal artifacts decreased as the reception bandwidth increased (p<0.05). Interestingly, the area of metal objects decreased to a maximum in the section where the reception bandwidth was increased from 100 Hz/PX to 200 Hz/PX, consistent with the section where the echo spacing was reduced to a maximum due to the increase in reception bandwidth. In addition, the correlation analysis results also showed that the eco spacing was more related to the signal attenuation area and the area of metal objects than to the reception bandwidth. Therefore, if the reception bandwidth is increased for the purpose of reducing metal objects, it is reasonable to set it based on a value that minimizes the echo spacing in consideration of image quality factors.

• Proceedings of the Korean Information Science Society Conference
• /
• 2006.10b
• /
• pp.475-479
• /
• 2006

환자의 체동은 MRI에 의해 제공된 영상의 화질을 저하시키는 주된 원인이 되고 있다. 이에 본 논문에서는 MRI내 3차원 강체운동에 기인한 아티팩트를 제거하는 방법을 제안한다. 이러한 제거 목표를 달성하기 위해 MRI 영상 데이터를 얻기위한 2차원 다-슬라이스 방법(a multiple two dimensional slice technique)이 사용되어 왔다. 대상물체의 운동에 해당하는 수집된 MRI 데이터는 불균일한 표본화와 위상오차에 의해 영향을 받게된다. 3차원 강체운동에 대해 주어진 운동 파라메타와 장면간의 영향이라는 가정하에 양선형 보간법과 중첩법으로 다-슬라이스 데이터를 사용하는 방법에 기초한 재구성 알고리즘을 MRI 아티팩트를 제거하는데 사용한다. 미지의 체동 파라메타를 추정하기 위해 3차원 강체운동은 다-슬라이스 취득방법의 각 영상과 결합된 관심영역 바깥쪽에서 측정된 에너지를 증가시킨다는 사실을 이용하는 최소에너지법을 사용한다. 본 방법의 유효성을 확인하기 위해 3차원 강체운동에 의해 화질이 저하된 스핀-에코우 영상에 적용한 결과 화질이 식별될 수 있을 정도로 개선됨을 확인하였다.