Knowledge Portal

thoracolumbar_spine

scott (scott@undisclosed.example.com) — 2026-07-20T13:56:49+00:00

Thoracolumbar Spine MRI Scan Coverage and Planning The thoracolumbar spine (TL Spine) is the more complex area of the CNS to scan clinically. The coverage is much broader since both the full thoracic spine and lumbar spine are included. There are various protocols for scanning the TL spine that can vary quite a bit from clinician to clinician, so it is best to establish clinician preference ahead of time. The most important image to acquire accurately is the sagittal, since this is where patho…

brachial_plexus - [Tips and Tricks]

scott (scott@undisclosed.example.com) — 2026-07-20T13:50:05+00:00

Brachial Plexus MRI Positioning Positioning for the brachial plexus exam is especially important. To ensure the nerves and forelimbs can be well assessed, both limbs should be positioned as symmetrical as possible, and pulled rostrally and well secured. Proper limb positioning will ensure that the peripheral brachial plexus nerves can be imaged closest to isocenter, compared slice-to-slice, and without excessive slice coverage. Typically dorsal recumbency is preferred, and any compatible coils…

mri_brain

scott (scott@undisclosed.example.com) — 2026-07-20T13:47:32+00:00

Brain MRI Scan Coverage and Planning Sagittal Plane On the 3 dorsal and axial scout images, plane the slices parallel to the midline of the brain, along the sagittal sinus. On the sagittal scout image, center the FOV on the pituitary gland (noted by the X). resize the FOV to include the orbit to C1/2. Add enough slices to include both orbits.

specific_absorption_rate - [Reducing SAR]

scott (scott@undisclosed.example.com) — 2026-07-20T13:45:23+00:00

Specific Absorption Rate What is Specific Absorption Rate? Specific Absorption Rate, often shortened to SAR, is an estimate of the the RF energy (watts/kilogram) deposited into the patient while scanning that may result in body temperature rise. SAR is not an exact 'amount' of RF, nor a specific level of heating, but an estimate based on patient weight, orientation, pulse sequence, acquisition parameters, and scan time. Each MR vendor utilizes different modeling for estimating SAR, so there ma…

bandwidth - [Bandwidth in Practice]

scott (scott@undisclosed.example.com) — 2026-07-20T13:43:01+00:00

Receiver Bandwidth What is Receiver Bandwidth? Receiver bandwidth, often shortened to just 'bandwidth' and not to be confused with transmit bandwidth, is a selectable parameter that controls the range of frequencies to be sampled for an MR image. Bandwidth is inseparable from two other parameters: Field of View (FOV) and Frequency Matrix. Indirectly, the bandwidth has implications in a number of things: chemical shift artifact, image contrast, geometric distortion, echo spacing,

echo_train_length

scott (scott@undisclosed.example.com) — 2026-07-20T13:42:18+00:00

Echo Train Length What is Echo Train Length Echo train length (ETL), also known as turbo factor, determines the number of additional refocused echoes to be acquired in a spin echo based sequence and is used to decrease scan time. Depending on the sequence, this number can be selected by the user (as in FSE) or is controlled indirectly (as in HASTE) through other parameters such as phase encoding steps. When selecting an echo train length, it is important to remember that the refocused echo is …

mri_physics

scott (scott@undisclosed.example.com) — 2026-07-20T13:39:59+00:00

MRI Physics MR Physics Home Page This page will be dedicated to providing more technical information relevant to scanning veterinary MRI. The depth of some topics will assume some degree of prior foundational MRI knowledge. For foundational MR physics information, there are some great online resources:

otherspinediseases

scott (scott@undisclosed.example.com) — 2026-06-29T16:32:09+00:00

Other Spine Diseases More Than IVDD There is more to spine pathology than just IVDD! On this page, there will be case examples of non-IVDD pathology in the spine, and a list of any useful sequences. Discospondylitis Discospondylitis is an infection of the vertebral endplates and intervertebral disc, most commonly of bacterial origin. Some notable features are:

pathology

scott (scott@undisclosed.example.com) — 2026-06-29T16:24:28+00:00

MR Pathology MR Pathology Use the links below to navigate to short discussions and case examples of various pathologies as seen on MR imaging. Brain Pathology Plexus Pathology Intervertebral Disc Disease (IVDD) Other Diseases of the Spine

spine_deep_dive

scott (scott@undisclosed.example.com) — 2026-06-29T16:19:35+00:00

Spine MRI Applications What is this page? This page is dedicated to more technical information regarding spine imaging, to include anatomy, MRI technique, and more of the 'why' of spine MRI. This page will follow the format of a question and answer dialogue for each topic. See

thoracolumbar_spine_protocol

scott (scott@undisclosed.example.com) — 2026-06-29T16:17:24+00:00

Thoracolumbar Spine Protocol The protocol below represents a full Thoracolumbar spine exam. There is significant variation depending on the clinical question and clinician preference. It is highly suggested to acquire at last one post contrast series with fat saturation if contrast is administered. It is also highly suggested to acquire one series in the dorsal plane, typically a T2 or STIR. For scanning technique, see the

fceslide2.png - created

scott (scott@undisclosed.example.com) — 2026-06-12T17:08:44+00:00

fceslide1.png - created

scott (scott@undisclosed.example.com) — 2026-06-12T17:08:13+00:00

arachnoid_slide_good.png - created

scott (scott@undisclosed.example.com) — 2026-06-12T16:47:04+00:00

myelo_arachnoid_web.gif - created

scott (scott@undisclosed.example.com) — 2026-06-12T16:43:00+00:00

sag_t2_arachnoid_web.gif - created

scott (scott@undisclosed.example.com) — 2026-06-12T16:41:45+00:00

arachnoiddiverticulumslide.png - created

scott (scott@undisclosed.example.com) — 2026-06-12T16:40:05+00:00

discoslide.png - created

scott (scott@undisclosed.example.com) — 2026-06-12T16:20:11+00:00

lplexaxgad.png - created

scott (scott@undisclosed.example.com) — 2026-06-11T05:47:34+00:00

llplexstir.png - created

scott (scott@undisclosed.example.com) — 2026-06-11T05:47:15+00:00