tissue contrast

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Tissue Contrast intrinsic factors relative quantity of protons tissue proton density relaxation properties of tissues T1 & T2 relaxation secondary factors flow contrast agents

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Page 1: Tissue contrast

Tissue Contrast

• intrinsic factors– relative quantity of protons

• tissue proton density

– relaxation properties of tissues• T1 & T2 relaxation

• secondary factors– flow

– contrast agents

Page 2: Tissue contrast

Contrast

• the ability to discriminate different tissues based on their relative brightness

Page 3: Tissue contrast

Basic Principle

• relatively intermediate intensity structures look bright on a dark background– important to remember with fatsat

• relatively intermediate intensity structures look dark on a light background

Page 4: Tissue contrast
Page 5: Tissue contrast
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Page 9: Tissue contrast
Page 10: Tissue contrast

Caveat

• windowing affects the relative contrast of tissues– intensity values of pixels are relative

to one another, unlike CT

• windowing can make a solid tumor look like a “cyst”

Page 11: Tissue contrast

T1 SET2 FSE

“CYST”“CYST”

Page 12: Tissue contrast

T1 SET2 FSE

CYST?CYST?

Page 13: Tissue contrast

T2 FSE T2 FSE

CYST?CYST?

Page 14: Tissue contrast

Summary

• need visible differences in intensity to discriminate tissues

• surrounding tissues can make an intermediate signal tissue appear dark or bright

• windowing affects image and tissue contrast

Page 15: Tissue contrast

Noise

• constant at a given machine setup

• reduces the ability to visualize low contrast structures

• adds to or subtracts from the average signal intensity of a given pixel

Page 16: Tissue contrast

Noise

• increasing the available signal will reduce the relative effects of noise

• machine parameters must be chosen to maximize signal without significantly extending exam times

• S/N is a relative measure allowing for comparison in a variety of circumstances

Page 17: Tissue contrast

frequency

SI

frequency

SI

Signal versus Noise

• high signal

• high SNR

• low signal

• low SNR

Page 18: Tissue contrast

Noiseless Conditions

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Tissue A Tissue B

Tissue Type

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Page 19: Tissue contrast

High Signal/Low Noise

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Tissue A Tissue B

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Page 20: Tissue contrast

Low Signal/High Noise

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Tissue A Tissue B

Tissue Type

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Page 21: Tissue contrast

Noiseless Conditions

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1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29

Relative Pixel Location

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Page 22: Tissue contrast

High Signal/Low Noise

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1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29

Relative Pixel Location

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Page 23: Tissue contrast

Low Signal/High Noise

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1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29

Relative Pixel Location

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Page 24: Tissue contrast

Image Contrast

100% noise

Page 25: Tissue contrast

Image Contrast

80% noise

Page 26: Tissue contrast

Image Contrast

60% noise

Page 27: Tissue contrast

Image Contrast

40% noise

Page 28: Tissue contrast

Image Contrast

20% noise

Page 29: Tissue contrast

Image Contrast

0% noise

Page 30: Tissue contrast

Factors Affecting SNR

• strength of main magnet

• coil selection• voxel size

• phase encoding

• number of averages

• receiver bandwidth

• pulse sequence parameters

Page 31: Tissue contrast

SNR

SNR K voxel sizemeasurements

bandwid th= • •( )

Page 32: Tissue contrast

• stronger main magnet

• proper imaging coil• larger voxel size

• decreased phase encoding

• increased number of averages

• decreased receiver bandwidth

• (pulse sequence parameters)

Factors INCREASING SNR

Page 33: Tissue contrast

Stronger Main MagnetS/N effect Downside

• linear increase • less T1 weighting at high fields

• increased chemical shift effects in RO direction

Page 34: Tissue contrast

Coil SelectionS/N effect Downside

• increase in signal with surface coils

• quadrature provides 40% increase S/N over linear

• phased array increased over quadrature

• limited coverage with surface coils

• more complex coils are more expensive

Page 35: Tissue contrast

Larger Voxel SizeS/N effect Downside

• linear increase in either RO or PE direction

• linear increase with increased slice thickness

• decreased resolution

Page 36: Tissue contrast

Decreased Phase EncodingsS/N effect Downside

• square root increase in signal to noise

• linear decrease in scan time

• decreased resolution in PE direction

• Gibb’s phenomenon in PE direction

Page 37: Tissue contrast

Increased Signal AveragesS/N effect Downside

• square root increase in signal to noise

• linear increase in scan time

Page 38: Tissue contrast

Decreased Receiver BWS/N effect Downside

• square root increase in signal to noise

• increase in chemical shift artifact in RO direction

Page 39: Tissue contrast

Pulse Sequence Parameters

• SE imaging– increased TR provides nonlinear

increase in SNR with linear increase in scan time

– decreased TE provides nonlinear increase in SNR with no effect on scan time and less T2 weighting

Page 40: Tissue contrast

Pulse Sequence Parameters

• GE imaging– complex effects

– maximum SNR typically between 30 and 60 degrees

– long TR sequences (2D)• increase SNR with increased flip angle

– short TR sequences (TOF & 3D)• decreased SNR with increased flip angle

Page 41: Tissue contrast

SNR Application

• pituitary imaging– baseline:

• 16 cm FOV, 3 mm slice thickness, 192 phase encodes, 4 NEX

– new goal:• reduced scan time, same SNR

Page 42: Tissue contrast

FOV RO PE

Slice Thickness

(mm) NEX

Imaging Time (TR=500 msec)

Relative SNR

160 256 192 3 4 6.40 43.30160 256 170 4 2 2.83 43.39190 256 192 3 2 3.20 43.18160 256 144 3 3 3.60 43.30

SNR Example

Page 43: Tissue contrast

Fat Suppression and SNR

• non fat-suppressed image– each image pixel comprised of signal

from water and fat in the imaging voxel

• fat-suppression– reduces total signal by suppression of

fat from the voxel

– reduces SNR

Page 44: Tissue contrast

frequency

SI

frequency

SI

Fat Suppression

• without fat suppresion

• high SNR

• with fat suppression

• lower SNR

waterplusfat water only