Identify the MRI sequence

Erin Zingarelli

Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions

erin.zingarelli@gmail.com


Publication Date: 20130805

Diagnosis

This patient underwent a diagnostic MRI as ordered by her neurologist.

  1. Can you identify the MRI sequence?

    T1

    Incorrect. In T1 weighted MRI images, the CSF is dark and white matter (such as the corpus callosum) appears white.
    T2

    Correct! In T2 weighted images, the CSF appears bright (H.2.O), and white matter appears dark.
    FLAIR

    Incorrect. FLAIR MRI images suppress fluid signal. They are essentially T2 minus the CSF signal.
    DWI

    Incorrect. In diffusion-weighted images, the sequence maps the travel of water in tissues. In edematous tissue, such as tissue in an ischemic stroke, the lesion will appear bright on DWI.

1 image