Joint Annual Meeting ISMRM-ESMRMB • 16-21 June 2018 • Paris, France

Educational Course
MR Physics & Techniques for Clinicians
MR Physics & Techniques for Clinicians
Weekday Course

ORGANIZERS: Marcus Alley, Bernd Jung

 
Thursday, 21 June 2018
S01  15:30 - 17:30 Moderators:  Joseph Cheng, Bernd Jung

Skill Level: Basic to Intermediate

Session Number: Th-01

Overview
This two-hour course will be a basic and comprehensive review of MRI physics and techniques. The presentations will be non-mathematical and suitable for clinicians and physicists new to the field. The course will cover the basic principles of MR physics (signal generation, encoding, and relaxation) and image quality.

Target Audience
This course is primarily designed for the clinician who will benefit from an understanding of the "hows" and "whys" of MR imaging. While it requires no prior experience with MR, those with some familiarity and experience will also benefit. Those interested may include: radiologists and clinicians relatively new to MR imaging (including residents and fellows), experienced radiologists and clinicians wanting a refresher course in MR physics, and physicists and engineers wanting an introduction to the field.

Educational Objectives
As a result of attending this course, participants should be able to:
-Explain common MR imaging artifacts, their causes and implement strategies to mitigate image artifacts;
-Select the appropriate contrast agents to be used to target different anatomical areas and physiological processes during imaging, and explain why;
-Discuss current concepts, applications and challenges in high-field MR imaging.

 

 
15:30
 
  Artifacts to Artefacts
Bernd Jung
Imaging artifacts are routinely encountered in MR clinical practice. Therefore the presentation focuses on 1) the understanding why MR artifacts arise, 2) the identification of  key artifacts and to understand their origins, 3) the elimination or mitigation of artifacts (if desired or possible), and 4) artifacts that can be utilized for diagnostic purposes.

 
16:10
 
  Contrast Agents, Focusing on the Gadolinium Chelates and Safety
Val Runge
The gadolinium chelates (the GBCAs) are critical to disease diagnosis by MR, indeed to clinical medicine worldwide, and have proven to be overall a very safe class of contrast media. This review focuses on the current knowledge regarding accumulation of gadolinium in the brain (dentate nucleus and other structures) and body, with clinical recommendations based on that and other safety data, including discussion of the recent European Medicines Agency (EMA) ruling.

 
16:50
 
  High Field Imaging
Sebastian Schmitter
The MRI main field strength has been constantly increased over the past decades and today, scanners with 3T, 7T and even beyond are in use. However, ultrahigh-field (>7T) systems are still mostly used in research centers although a transition into hospitals is expected. The reasons for using (ultra-)high fields are multifold and will be outlined in this presentation Along with these benefits go a larger range of challenges, which are among the reasons for the rather slow transition of UHF into clinical applications. Solutions to most of these challenges will be presented and applications will be highlighted.

 
17:30
 
  Adjournment & Meet the Teachers
Back
The International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.