MRI 295 - MRI Certification Exam Preparation

2. Review and discuss patient care and safety.

3. Review common pulse sequence applications for neurological, orthopedic and torso imaging.

4. Review techniques used in special procedures.

5. Review and discuss imaging procedures, MRI contrast, and anatomy.
Course Outline:
I. Discuss and review the physical principles of image formation.

A. Discuss nuclear magnetism.

B. Identify physical principles of electromagnetism and its relationship to Faraday’s Law.

C. Review the fundamentals of nuclear magnetism in relation to tissue characteristics, RF pulse, gyromagnetic ratio, energy state transitions, and FID.

D. State the Larmor equation and identify its importance to MRI.

E. Discuss and define precession, resonance, and free induction decay (FID).

F. Review the basic hardware components of the MRI system as it relates to coil configuration, bandwidth, pulse profile, and phased array.

G. Review the types of magnets used in MRI.

H. Discuss tesla and gauss and determine their relationship to magnetic field strength.

I. Identify the components of the radiofrequency system (i.e. coil configuration, transmit and receive coils, transmit and receive bandwidth, pulse profile, and phased array).

J. Discuss the gradient system as it relates to coil configuration, slew rate, rise time, and duty cycle.

K. Identify the cause and appearance of various artifacts such as aliasing, Gibbs truncation, chemical shift, partial volume averaging, magnetic susceptibility, radiofrequency, motion, flow, and crosstalk.

L. Discuss the quality control procedures for slice thickness, spatial resolution, contrast resolution, signal to noise center frequency, transmit gain, geometric accuracy, and equipment inspection.

M. Differentiate between the tissue characteristics of T1 relaxation, T2 relaxation, T2* (susceptibility), and proton density.

N. Identify the importance of the X, Y, and Z coordinate system.

O. Differentiate between physical and logical gradient, slice select gradient, phase-encoding gradient, and frequency (readout) gradient, and identify their importance.

P. Discuss vectors and k-space (raw data) as it relates to special localization.

II. Discuss and review patient care and safety.

A. Discuss biomedical implants, ferrous foreign bodies, medical conditions, and prior diagnostic or surgical procedures in relation to patient screening and safety.

B. Discuss the considerations for static and gradient magnetic fields (i.e. biological effects, FDA guidelines).

C. Discuss the consideration for the RF field (i.e. SAR, biological effects, FDA guidelines).

D. Discuss the biological effects of acoustic noise during the MRI procedure.

E. Discuss cryogenics, quenching, and the effects on patient safety if this were to happen while a patient was in the room.

F. Identify the ACR 4 zones of safety.

G. Discuss the safety considerations for placement of conductors (i.e. ECG, coils, cables).

H. Differentiate between the emergency response processes in the MRI department compared to that of other Radiology departments.

I. List the types of emergency responses that might occur in the MRI department and discuss how they should be dealt with.

J. Describe the proper transfer techniques and body mechanics for moving non-ambulatory patients.

K. List the proper steps for taking a patient’s vital signs (blood pressure, pulse, heart rate, Oz stats, etc…).

L. Discuss the scanning adjustment options for claustrophobic, critical, sedated, or pediatric patients.

M. Review the disposal techniques for contaminated material (linen, needles, pt. supplies, etc…).

N. Discuss standard precautions.

O. List the cycle of infections.

P. Identify the transmission based precautions that health care workers must be aware of for TB, HIV, and Hep B.

Q. Discuss the contraindications of using contrast.

R. Discuss the importance of maintaining a controlled climate in the MRI room.

S. Discuss the importance of magnetic shielding.

T. Discuss the legal and ethical principles associated with patient care.

U. Discuss the types of interpersonal communication and their importance to patient screening.

III. Review common pulse sequence applications to neuro, orthopedic, and torso imaging.

A. Discuss and differentiate between the conventional spin echo and fast spin echo.

B. Discuss and differentiate between the STIR and FLAIR.

C. Discuss and differentiate between the conventional gradient echo and fast gradient echo.

D. Discuss echo planar imaging (EPI).

E. Discuss calibration scans as it relates to filtering and parallel imaging.

IV. Review techniques used in special procedures.

A. Discuss and differentiate between maximum intensity projection (MIP), multiplanar reconstruction techniques (MPR), subtraction, and volume rendering.

B. Discuss cardiac analysis at it relates to data manipulation.

C. Discuss the different types of MRA procedures used in MRI.

D. Discuss the characteristics of flow.

E. Discuss the flow dynamics for MRA/MRV procedures.

F. Differentiate between time-of-flight and phase contrast MRA imaging.

G. Differentiate between fluoro-triggering, timing bolus, and automatic bolus detection (e.g. smart prep, care bolus).

H. Review the principles of diffusion, perfusion, spectroscopy, and fMRI.

I. Review and describe the diagnostic value of diffusion and perfusion imaging.

J. Review the tissue characteristics of diffusion and perfusion images.

K. Describe and discuss the imaging planes and pulse sequence parameters that maximize the diagnostic value of an MR scan of the chest, heart, mediastinum, brachial plexus, and breast.

V. Review and discuss imaging procedures, MRI contrast, and anatomy.

A. Identify the major organs and vasculature as seen in multiple imaging planes.

B. Identify the common pathology seen on MRI images and discuss protocol adjustments based on findings.

C. Review patient positioning and coil selection for routine MRI imaging.

D. Explain the methods of compensation in producing an optimal MRI exam.

E. Discuss MRI imaging parameters (i.e. TR, TE, TI, NSA, FOV, etc…) and identify how they impact image quality.

F. Discuss the MRI imaging options (i.e. 2D/3D, bandwidth, suppression techniques, etc…) and identify how they impact image quality.

G. Discuss MRI imaging parameters (i.e. TR, TE, TI, NSA, FOV, etc…) and identify how they impact image contrast.

H. Discuss the MRI imaging options (i.e. 2D/3D, bandwidth, suppression techniques, etc…) and identify how they impact image contrast.

I. Discuss the use of contrast and affect the various types may or may not have on the MRI image.

J. List the proper steps for calculating contrast dosage and discuss the procedures that are performed that might alter the normal dose given.