• Korean Journal of Digital Imaging in Medicine
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.11-16
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• 2007

We have evaluated and compared of gradient echo and spin echo EPI for compensating about deeply distortion aspect in case of post-operation patients in magnetic resonance image. A total of 100 patients were performed on 3.0 T(GE Signa Excite E2, USA) with 8ch head coil. As a result of analysis, The SNRs of whiter and gray matter areas were 36.74 $\pm$ 06 and 39.96 $\pm$ 09 in the gradient echo EPI, the SNRs which white and gray matter areas were slightly higher than gradient echo EPI(P<0.005, paired student t-test). It was 46.24 $\pm$ 11 and 51.38 $\pm$ 13 in gradient and spin echo EPI, respectively. The signal intensity in the whiter and gray matter areas also were 87.33 $\pm$ 15.24 and 140.66 $\pm$ 13.45 in the gradient echo EPI techniques, The signal intensity of gradient echo EPI showed higher values compared to spin echo EPI. Otherwise, gradient echo EPI technique is distortion enough to operation wound and edge of the image, while spin echo EPI technique did not appear almost. In this point, the spin echo EPI technique, after surgical operation according to patient state beside gradient echo EPI techniques that signalbeside gradient echo EPI techniques that signal intensity is high and patient's case which image distortion is serious by metal etc, will be provide the useful information in adults and pediatric patients.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.243-251
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• 1997

In this paper, we have reported two interesting flow effects arising in the TRFGE sequence using water flow phantom. First, we have shown that the TRFGE sequence is indeed not affected by "in-flow" effect from the unsaturated spins flowing into the imaging slice. Second, the enhancement of "in-plane flow" signal in the readout gradient direction was observed when the TRFGE sequence was used without flow compensation. These two results have many interesting applications in MR imaging other than fMRI. Results obtained were also compared with the results obtained by the conventional gradient echo(CGE) imaging. Experiments were performed at 4.7T MRI/S animal system (Biospec, BRUKER, Switzerland). A cylindrical phantom was made using acryl and a vinyl tube was inserted at the center(Fig. 1). The whole cylinder was filled with water doped with $MnCl_2$ and the center tube was filled with saline which flows in parallel to the main magnetic field along the tube. Tailored RF pulse was designed to have quadratic ($z^2$) phase distribution in slice direction(z). Imaging parameters were TR/TE = 55~85/10msec, flip angle = $30^{\circ}$, slice thickness = 2mm, matrix size = 256${\times}$256, and FOV= 10cm. In-flow effect : Axial images were obtained with and without flow using the CGE and TRFGE sequences, respectively. The flow direction was perpendicular to the image slice. In-plane flow : Sagittal images were obtained with and without flow using the TRGE sequence. The readout gradient was applied in parallel to the flow direction. We have observed that the "in-flow" effect did not affect the TRFGE image, while "in-plane flow" running along the readout gradient direction enhanced the signal in the TRFGE sequence when flow compensation gradient scheme was not used.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.187-198
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• 1990

Examinations of the temporomandibular joints were performed on a 1.5 Tesla magnetic resonance (MR) system. An MR surface receiver coil 3 inch in diameter was placed on plastic frame, the patient's head being placed in the frame so that the coil was pressed against the temporal region. In taking advantage of the magnetic resonance imaging that has been studied briskly till now, author obtained the images of parasagittal and paracoronal planes about the temporomandibular joint by using MPGR (Multi-Planar Gradient Recalled), GRASS (Gradient Recalled Acquisition in the Steady State), and CSMEMP (Contiguous Slice Multiple Echo, Multi-Planar), that differ from the Spin Echo pulse sequence which the previous authors used. Five subjects with no symptoms of temporomandibular joint pain and dysfunction were studied. The plane images obtained by these methods were compared with those by Spin Echo pulse sequence. The results were as follows: 1. The optimal repetition times (TR) and echo times (TE) for T.M.J. image were; a. 400 msec and 18 msec in PMGR pulse sequence. b. 40 msec and 12 msec in GRASS pulse sequence. c. 700 msec and 30 msec in CSMEMP pulse sequence. d. 500 msec and 20 msec in Spin Echo pulse sequence. 2. When the MPGR pulse sequence was using, T2-weighted image was obtained in very short time. On the image of the paracoronal plane by GRASS pulse sequence, meniscus showed the moderate signal intensity, and the meniscus and its anteromedial, posterolateral attachments were observed definitely with gray color. 4. The signal intensity of Spin Echo pulse sequence was equal to that of CSMEMP pulse sequence, but the image by CSMEMP pulse sequence showed relatively lower level in its resolution.

• Proceedings of the KOSOMBE Conference
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• v.1998 no.11
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• pp.307-308
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• 1998

In this paper, we describe a field measurement technique using multiple gradient echo method. For this purpose, 3 differential phase map is used between two images obtained in a single scan. The phase map is further processed to unfold phase folding (2n $\pi$). The inhomogeneity map is used to correct image distortion along readout gradient direction. Some experimental results obtained at 1.0 Tesla whole body MR system are shown with the proposed technique.

• Proceedings of the KOSOMBE Conference
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• v.1992 no.05
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• pp.92-97
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• 1992

The pulsatile nature of blood flow makes artefacts in 2D Fourier transform image. Spatial presaturation is known to be effective in eliminating flow artefacts when the spin echo acquisition is employed. However. this method requires additional RF pulse and spoiling gradient for presaturation. In this paper a new flow saturation technique which does not require additional saturation-RF and gradient is proposed. The proposed technique is equivalent to the existing saturation technique but the elimination of the flow component is achieved by a pair of tailored $90^{\circ}-180^{\circ}$ RF pulses in tile spin echo sequence. By use of two tailored RF pulses with opposite phase polarity, a linear phase gradient is generated for those moving materials and consequently all the spins of moving materials become dephased thereby no signal is observable. Computer simulations and experimental results obtained using both a phantom and a human volunteer with a 2.0 T whole body system are also presented.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.209-216
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• 1995

Recently, a new tailored RF gradient echo (TRFGE) sequence was reported. This technique not only enhances the magnetic susceptibility effect but also allows us to measure local changes in brain oxygenation. In this study, a phantom and cat brain experiments were performed on a 4.7 Tesla BIQSPEC (BRUKER) instrument with a 26 cm gradient system. We have demonstrated that the signal intensity (SI) of the TRFGE sequence varies according to the concentration of susceptibility contrast agent. Three capillary tubes with different concentrations of Gd-DTPA (0.01, 0.05, 0.1 mMOI/l) were placed at the middle of a cylindrical water phantom. Using both TRFGE and conventional gradient echo (CGE) sequences, phantom images of the slices which contain all three tubes were obtained. For the animal experiment, cats were anesthetized and ventilated using halotane (0.5%) and a $N_2O/ O_2$ mixture (2:1), and blood pressure and heart rate were monitored and kept normal. For the observation of tue first pass of Gd- DTPA, imaging was started at t = 0. At t = 8 ~ 12s, 0.2 mMol/Kg Gd-DTPA was manually injected in the femoral vein. The imaging parameters were TRITE = 25/10 msec, flip angle = $30^{\circ}$, FOV = 10cm, image matrix size = $128{\times}128$ with 64 phase encodings and the image data acquisition window was 10 msec. SI-time curves were then obtained from a series of 30 images which were collected at 2 sec intervals using both CGE and TRFGE pulse sequences before, during, and following the contrast injection.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.33-40
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• 1999

Purpose: To simulate and measure the signal intensity of various tissues near bone interface in 2D and 3D neurological MR images. Materials and Methods: In neurological proton density (PD) weighted images, every component in the head including cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), muscle and scalp, with the exception of bone, are visualised. It is possible to acquire images in 2D or 3D. A 2D fast spin-echo (FSE) sequence is chosen for the 2D acquisition and a 3D gradient-echo (GE) sequence is chosen for the 3D acquisition. To find out the signal intensities of CSF, muscle and fat (or scalp) for the 2D spin-echo(SE) and 3D gradient-echo (GE) imaging sequences, the theoretical signal intensities for 2D SE and 3D GE were calculated. For the 2D fast spin-echo (FSE) sequence, to produce the PD weighted image, long TR (4000 ms) and short TE$_{eff}$ (22 ms) were employed. For the 3D GE sequence, low flip angle (8$^{\circ}$) with short TR (35 ms) and short TE (3 ms) was used to produce the PD weighted contrast. Results: The 2D FSE sequence has CSF, muscle and scalp with superior image contrast and SNR of 39 - 57 while the 3D GE sequence has CSF, muscle and scalp with broadly similar image contrast and SNR of 26 - 33. SNR in the FSE image were better than those in the GE image and the skull edges appeared very clearly in the FSE image due to the edge enhancement effect in the FSE sequence. Furthermore, the contrast between CSF, muscle and scalp in the 2D FSE image was significantly better than in the 3D GE image, due to the strong signal intensities (or SNR) from CSF, muscle and scalp and enhanced edges of CSF. Conclusion: The signal intensity of various tissues near bone interface in neurological MR images has been simulated and measured. Both the simulation and imaging of the 2D SE and 3D GE sequences have CSF, fat and muscle with broadly similar image intensity and SNR's and have succeeded in getting all tissues about the same signal. However, in the 2D FSE sequence, image contrast between CSF, muscle and scalp was good and SNR was relatively high, imaging time was relatively short.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.168-172
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• 2001

Objective : The authors have studied the clinical outcome of patients with diffuse axonal injuries(DAI) to evaluate the prognostic value of gradient-echo MR imaging findings. Materials and Methods : From March 1995 to March 1998, there were nineteen patients with DAI whose initial Glasgow coma scales were eight or less. Authors divided them into two groups according to Glasgow outcome scales ; those patients with GOS 3 or less(group A ; 9) and those with 4 or more(group B ; 10). We subdivided the lesions as superficial and deep lesion, and analyzed the numbers, anatomical loci of the lesions on the gradient echo images of each group. Results : Mean numbers of the lesions were 15 per case in group A(135/9) and 10 in group B(100/10). The common loci involved in DAI were cerebral cortex, brain stem, and corpus callosum. Cortical lesions were 31.1% in group A(42/135) and 47% in group B(47/100). Brain stem lesions were 25.9%(35/135) and 15%(15/100) each. Callosal lesions were 31.1%(26/135) and 13%(13/100) each. The frequency of callosal and brain stem lesions was significantly different between two groups(p<0.05). We divided callosal lesions as genu, body, and splenium and body lesions as anterior, middle, posterior, but no significant topographical difference of lesions was observed between two groups. Deep lesions were observed more frequently in group A(58.5%, 79/135) than group B(36%, 36/100). Conclusion : The poor outcome group showed more numbers of lesion and more frequent involvement of brain stem and corpus callosum than favorable outcome group. Gradient-echo MR imaging seems to have predictive value for clinical outcome in patients with DAI.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.290-302
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• 2014

Purpose : Susceptibility-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) sequence is three-dimensional (3D), spoiled gradient-echo pulse sequences that provide a high sensitivity for the detection of blood degradation products, calcifications, and iron deposits. This pictorial review is aimed at illustrating and discussing its main clinical applications. Materials and Methods: SWI is based on high-resolution, 3D, fully velocity-compensated gradient-echo sequences using both magnitude and phase images. To enhance the visibility of the venous structures, the magnitude images are multiplied with a phase mask generated from the filtered phase data, which are displayed at best after post-processing of the 3D dataset with the minimal intensity projection algorithm. A total of 200 patients underwent MR examinations that included SWI on a 3 tesla MR imager were enrolled. Results: SWI is very useful in detecting multiple brain disorders. Among the 200 patients, 80 showed developmental venous anomaly, 22 showed cavernous malformation, 12 showed calcifications in various conditions, 21 showed cerebrovascular accident with susceptibility vessel sign or microbleeds, 52 showed brain tumors, 2 showed diffuse axonal injury, 3 showed arteriovenous malformation, 5 showed dural arteriovenous fistula, 1 showed moyamoya disease, and 2 showed Parkinson's disease. Conclusion: SWI is useful in detecting occult low flow vascular lesions, calcification and microbleed and characterising diverse brain disorders.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 1999.07g
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• pp.2809-2811
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• 1999

In this paper, we develope an algorithm to calculate field inhomogeneity in MR imaging using a dual fast spin echo pulse sequence. Because phase modulation time can be easily modified with this pulse sequence, high resolution image can be obtained and acquisition time can be reduced compared to gradient echo technique. In the case of phase wrapping in field map, phase corrected using image processing technique. We assume the field pattern to be second order polynomial and apply Pseudo-Inverse equation to calculate second order polynomial coefficients. These coefficients can be used for the shimming of the magnetic field.