title: Choice of the pulse sequence and parameters for improved signal-to-noise ratio in T1-weighted study of MRI.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the practical impact of alteration of imaging parameters on signal-to-noise ratio for the most commonly used T1-weighted magnetic resonance sequences.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study was conducted in the Department of Medical Physics, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, Dundee, UK, in 2007. Magnetic resonance images of a tissue-equivalent material were generated with a set of T1 and T2 values. Experimental variations in the imaging parameters were performed in echo time and repetition time. Quantitative analysis consisted of signal-to-noise ratio.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Percentage inaccuracy in signal-to-noise ratio was the result of inappropriate choice of parameters. We have investigated conventional spin echo, fast spin echo and fast fluid attenuated inversion recovery with one of corresponding percentage errors 28.68%, -36.65% and -40.34%, respectively. Conventional spin echo presented moderately low percentage error with the choice of repetition time and echo time. Factual error in fast spin echo was slightly higher than conventional spin echo. Fast fluid attenuated inversion recovery could create outstanding signal-to-noise ratio of high T1/T2 value phantoms in T1-weighted images.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The role of repetition time and echo time in T1-weighted images was crucial to sustain the image quality.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Lahore, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Naima
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Amin
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics. The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Muhammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Afzal
authors.affiliation: Department of Mathematics, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Lahore, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Muhammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yousaf
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Sciences, UET, Texila, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Muhammad Arshad
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Javid
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D059629:Signal-To-Noise Ratio
keywords: Magnetic resonance imaging, Pulse sequences, Signal-to-noise ratio, Imaging parameters, T1- weighted images.