D3 - Image Production: ARRT MRI topic guide

D3 - Image Production carries 53% of the ARRT MRI blueprint used in this course, the largest of its 4 weighted areas. It spans 32 concepts. The course teaches it in 6 study units: How the Signal Is Made, Where the Signal Lives, The Artifact Board, The Contrast Console, Choosing the Sequence and From k-Space to the Archive.

What D3 - Image Production covers

• Larmor equation — Westbrook et al. 'MRI in Practice' + mriquestions.com physics cross-check
• T1 recovery is the time for longitudinal magnetization to regrow to 6 — Westbrook et al. 'MRI in Practice' + mriquestions.com physics cross-check
• Tissue signal behavior — Westbrook et al. 'MRI in Practice' + mriquestions.com physics cross-check
• Magnet types — Westbrook et al. 'MRI in Practice' + mriquestions.com physics cross-check
• RF coils — Westbrook et al. 'MRI in Practice' + mriquestions.com physics cross-check
• The gradient system is specified by amplitude, slew rate — Westbrook et al. 'MRI in Practice' + mriquestions.com physics cross-check
• Spatial encoding uses three gradients — Westbrook et al. 'MRI in Practice' + mriquestions.com physics cross-check
• k-space is the raw spatial-frequency data matrix — Westbrook et al. 'MRI in Practice' + mriquestions.com physics cross-check
• Quality control tracks center frequency, transmit gain, SNR, slice thickness, spatia — ACR Manual on Contrast Media / ACR Manual on MR Safety
• Aliasing — Westbrook et al. 'MRI in Practice' + mriquestions.com physics cross-check
• Chemical shift — Westbrook et al. 'MRI in Practice' + mriquestions.com physics cross-check
• Chemical misregistration — Westbrook et al. 'MRI in Practice' + mriquestions.com physics cross-check
• Gibbs/truncation artifact — Westbrook et al. 'MRI in Practice' + mriquestions.com physics cross-check
• Motion and flow artifacts — Westbrook et al. 'MRI in Practice' + mriquestions.com physics cross-check
• Magnetic-susceptibility artifact — Westbrook et al. 'MRI in Practice' + mriquestions.com physics cross-check
• Artifact lookalikes to separate — Westbrook et al. 'MRI in Practice' + mriquestions.com physics cross-check
• Contrast recipes — Westbrook et al. 'MRI in Practice' + mriquestions.com physics cross-check
• Gradient-echo flip-angle logic — Westbrook et al. 'MRI in Practice' + mriquestions.com physics cross-check
• SNR proportionalities — Westbrook et al. 'MRI in Practice' + mriquestions.com physics cross-check
• Spatial resolution arithmetic — Westbrook et al. 'MRI in Practice' + mriquestions.com physics cross-check
• Scan-time formulas — Westbrook et al. 'MRI in Practice' + mriquestions.com physics cross-check
• Fast spin echo — Westbrook et al. 'MRI in Practice' + mriquestions.com physics cross-check
• Special parameters — Westbrook et al. 'MRI in Practice' + mriquestions.com physics cross-check
• Imaging options — Westbrook et al. 'MRI in Practice' + mriquestions.com physics cross-check
• Suppression menu — Westbrook et al. 'MRI in Practice' + mriquestions.com physics cross-check
• Inversion-recovery numbers — Westbrook et al. 'MRI in Practice' + mriquestions.com physics cross-check
• Sequence family tree — Westbrook et al. 'MRI in Practice' + mriquestions.com physics cross-check
• MR angiography physics — Westbrook et al. 'MRI in Practice' + mriquestions.com physics cross-check
• Advanced sequences — Westbrook et al. 'MRI in Practice' + mriquestions.com physics cross-check
• Data manipulation — Westbrook et al. 'MRI in Practice' + mriquestions.com physics cross-check
• Postprocessing — Westbrook et al. 'MRI in Practice' + mriquestions.com physics cross-check
• Informatics — ARRT Examination Content Specifications

Common mistakes in D3 - Image Production

• '75 = 75% correct' - it is a scaled score, not a percentage
• 'more NEX doubles SNR' - SNR ∝ √NEX
• 'wrap and parallel-imaging artifact look alike' - wrap folds at the edges, parallel artifact sits at FOV center
• 'T2 and T2* are the same' - T2* includes static-field inhomogeneity and is always shorter

Key terms for D3 - Image Production

k-space · SAR-independent tradeoff triangle · effective TE

How D3 - Image Production connects to other areas

• Advanced sequences links to Routine brain and stroke protocol — D4 - Procedures
• MR angiography physics links to Neurovascular studies — D4 - Procedures
• Chemical misregistration links to Liver — D4 - Procedures
• Chemical misregistration links to Abdomen beyond the liver — D4 - Procedures
• Suppression menu links to Spine — D4 - Procedures

Official references for D3 - Image Production

• Westbrook et al. 'MRI in Practice' + mriquestions.com physics cross-check
• ACR Manual on Contrast Media / ACR Manual on MR Safety
• ARRT Examination Content Specifications

In the app this area comes with 32 memory cards and 106 module-quiz questions in the full course.