MRI SEQUENCES:

T1-T2
Sarah Humaira
Pembimbing:
dr. H. Ali Imran Lubis, Sp. Rad
 An MRI sequence is…
an ordered combination of RF and gradient pulses
designed to acquire the data to form the image.
The data to create an MR image is obtained in a series of steps:
First the tissue magnetisation is excited using an RF pulse in the presence of a
slice select gradient.

The other two essential elements of the sequence are phase encoding and
frequency encoding/read out, which are required to spatially localise the
protons in the other two dimensions.

Finally, after the data has been collected, the process is repeated for a series of
phase encoding steps.
 What is T1 and T2 in MRI?

•T1 : The time constant with which the spin magnetization of a given
tissue will build up after being saturated/inverted/pulsed-away

•T2 : The (longer) time constant with which the spins’ signals arising
from a given tissue will decay away due to homogeneous broadening –
this is the kind of irreversible decay that can’t be echoed away, arising
from microscopic random fluctuations in the magnetic field.
 What is T1 relaxation?
T1 relaxation is the process by which the net magnetization (M) grows/returns
to its initial maximum value (Mo) parallel to Bo. Synonyms for T1
relaxation include longitudinal relaxation, thermal relaxation and spin-
lattice relaxation.
• In his landmark 1946 paper • In biological materials, T1 values
describing "nuclear induction" ranging from a few tenths of a
(today called NMR), Felix Bloch second to several seconds are
modeled this process as a simple typically found.
exponential with T1 as a first-order
time constant.
• Graphically, therefore, T1 can be
viewed as the time required for
the z-component of M to reach
(1 − 1/e) or about 63% of its
maximum value (Mo).
• Energy must therefore leave the spin system for T1
relaxation to occur. This energy loss is unrecoverable
and represents the transfer of heat; hence the origin of
the T1 synonym "thermal relaxation".
• This energy must be transferred somewhere, and that
"somewhere" is into nearby nuclei, atoms, and molecules
through collisions, rotations, or electromagnetic
interactions.
• At the most basic level, therefore, T1-relaxation is simply
an energy flow between spins and their external
environment.
• The amount of energy transferred from the nuclei is very
small compared to normal molecular kinetic energies, so
it is quickly dispersed and goes largely unnoticed at
body temperatures.
 What is T2 relaxation?
T2 relaxation is the process by which the transverse components of
magnetization (Mxy) decay or dephase. Synonyms for T2
relaxation are transverse relaxation and spin-spin relaxation.
• Tipping the net magnetization (M) into the transverse
plane does not cause all the spins to magically lock in
phase.
• What happens is that those same spins initially showing
some statistical "preference" for the z-direction prior to
the RF-pulse have now been rotated into the transverse
plane.
• The initial Boltzmann distribution "ordering" of spins in
the z-direction has been has been preserved and
transformed by the rotation into what can be considered
"phase coherence" in the xy-plane.
• Simultaneously, the initial value of M in the z-direction
(Mz) immediately before the RF-pulse has been
converted to a net transverse magnetization (Mxy) after
the pulse.
 The spin system begins with an slightly unequal distribution of angular
momentum in the z-direction, creating a net magnetization (M).
The 90°-pulse rotates the entire system converting the initial asymmetry of
z-components into asymmetry of transverse (xy)-components resulting in a
temporary statistical "phase coherence".
After the 90°-pulse there is an asymmetric statistical clustering
of spins in the transverse plane which constitutes "phase
coherence". Only a tiny fraction (~10-6) of spins contribute to
this phenomenon. The number of these spins has been grossly
and disproportionately exaggerated in the diagram.
 T2 Relaxation Accompanying T1 Relaxation
• T1 relaxation occurs when a spin exchanges in T2 relaxation. This is sometimes called
energy with its external environment. the "T1 contribution to T2" or "T1 in T2".
• If such an energy exchange were to affect
one of the spins contributing to Mxy, both
the transverse and longitudinal components
of its angular momentum would be
randomly changed and it would
immediately lose phase relations with other
spins.
• Without that spin's small contribution, the
value of Mxy would be diminished and so T2
relaxation would have occurred. Thus, any
process causing T1 relaxation also results
T2 Relaxation Occurring Without T1 Relaxation
• Although T2 relaxation always accompanies containing clump of hemosiderin or reside
T1 relaxation, T2 relaxation may also occur on a molecule next to an electronegative
without T1 relaxation. This is sometimes oxygen atom.
referred to as the "secular contribution to
T2.“
• One of the most common ways for this to
occur is for a spin to be located in a
molecular environment where it
experiences a local static field disturbance
(Bloc) in addition to the main magnetic field
(Bo).
• For example, the spin might be located on a
water molecule diffusing by an iron-
T2 relaxation without T1 relaxation can also happen in a
special form of dipolar interaction known informally as
a spin-spin "flip-flop“. In this mechanism a pair of spins
simultaneously exchange their longitudinal angular
momentum components resulting in no net T1 effect but
loss of T2 coherence.

Spin-spin "flip-flop". A pair of spins exchanges longitudinal angular

momentum going from state {up|down} to state {down|up}. There is no
change in T1 but the interaction produces T2 relaxation.
 SUMMARY OF
“WHAT IS T1 AND T2 IN MRI?”
 How Pathology Changes T1 and T2
The main usefulness of T1 and T2 in MRI comes not from their meaning – since
they are not directly related to any physiological parameter – but from their
sensitivity to microscopic pathological changes in tissue. This is a very
interesting and important point:

T1 and T2 can reveal microscopic

pathologies on a much smaller scale than
the voxel size (although these pathologies
must permeate a macroscopic region on
the order of the voxel size to be detected,
due to MRI’s low sensitivity).
 Pathologies can appear as either hypointense (dark) or
hyperintense (bright) on T1 or T2 weighted images.
Pathologies which are isointense (same as surroundings)
are invisible, although a pathology might be isointense on
a T1 weighted image but hyper/hypo intense on a T2
weighted image.
• The following tables summarize some typical pathologies and their
associated appearances:
• Continue..

The above are just rules of thumb and should never be used to make
any sort of conclusive diagnosis.
 T1 Hyperintensity Usually Means A
Shorter T1. T2 Hyperintensity Usually
Means A Longer T2.

CSF, which has a long T1, appears dark on T1-weighted images. This is not a
“law of nature” but has to do with the way T1 contrast is usually created in MRI
images, via rapid pulsing or inversion recovery. For both, high T1 values appear
darker, as discussed in the lecture dealing with creating T1 and T2 contrast. On
the other hand, T2-weighted sequences often rely on some form of spin-echo.
• As T2 is increased, the signal decays more slowly, which
results in hyperintensity (compared to normal, non-
increased T2). This means that hyperintensity
corresponds to longer T2s.
• It’s very important not to automatically assume that
hyperintensity means there is “more” of something.
• It all depends on the signal equation and type of
contrast.
 T2 relaxation always proceeds at a faster rate than T1 relaxation;
thus the the T1 relaxation time is always longer than or equal to T2.
This table listing T1 and T2 values for hydrogen nuclei in various biological tissues.
• This can be appreciated in the graph
right showing T1 and T2 relaxation
times plotted as a function of
molecular "tumbling" rate.
• Small, rapidly rotating molecules (like
free water) have long T1 and T2 times.
• As molecular motion slows (as in
proteins and dense solids), T2
shortens and T1 again increases.

T1 and T2 as a function of molecular size and tumbling rate. The

minimum value of T1 and dip in the T2 curve occurs when
motion is at the Larmor frequency, fo.
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