Course title: Magnetic Resonance Imaging Basics

Content and format: The aim of the course is to provide a basis for understanding MRI measurements, pitfalls and literature. The course covers introductory MRI acquisition in a series of ~7 weekly interactive lectures starting October 28th, 2014. These cover MR basics, acquisition methods and parameters with a focus on understanding. Active participation is required.

The course starts at a level requiring little or no MR experience, and a technical background is not required. The target audience is employees and students at the MR department but the course is open and free for external participants. DRCMR employees, students and co-workers are given priority if the number of participants is limited due to space limitations.

The course covers the basics needed to later follow the independent and more technical spring course Medical Magnetic Resonance Imaging offered as part of the Medicine&Technology program at the Technical University of Denmark, and which is also available for non-DTU-students (offered under "Open University").

Dates, time, place: The course starts Tuesday afternoon 1:30-4pm, October 28th, 2014. It continues approximately weekly until mid December (see lecture plan below). The venue is the DRCMR conference room.

Registration: The course is free and open, but you need to inform Karam (DRCMR participants only, ) and Lars () about your affiliation and incentive to take the course. You will then be added to the course mailing list.

Literature and software: The course is initially based on notes http://eprints.drcmr.dk/37/ (also available in Danish). Other course notes, slides and relevant articles are provided during the course.

Credit: The course has a workload corresponding to 1.5 ECTS points. You do not, however, automatically get credit for the course in any education. You can get a certificate and apply for credit at your school, but be aware that no general evaluation is planned, which may be required for a credit bearing course. A brief informal exam focused on your particular interests can possibly be arranged on an individual basis upon request (by default only offered to DRCMR participants, who may also by appointment hand in a report to get more study credits). This is required for the organizer to recommend 2 ECTS in total.

Language: The course language is English. Participants are welcome to respond and ask questions in Danish, if preferred.

Organizer and lecturer:  Lars G. Hanson (senior scientist at DRCMR, and associate professor at DTU).

Preliminary outline divided on weeks (updated November 18th. More precise updates are sent to participants):

Tuesday October 28th, part 1:

• Sections "Magnetic Resonance" until "Sequences" in MR notes are discussed during the coming few weeks (the English and Danish versions are similar). Protons, spin, net magnetization, precession, radio waves, resonance, relaxation, rotating and stationary frames of reference, T1 and T2.

Tuesday November 4th, part 2:

• Relaxation time weighting. Sequence diagrams, contrast
• Sequence building blocks: Inversion, saturation, lipid/water suppression.

Tuesday November 11th, part 3:

• Dephasing, refocusing, T2*, spin echoes
• Magnetic interaction with tissue
• Fast low angle shot (FLASH)

MR notes from "Imaging" and beyond are covered during the coming weeks.

Tuesday November 18th, part 4:

• Shimming
• Contrast overview, contrast agents
• Gradients, slice selection
• phase, phase-rolls

Tuesday November 25th 2014:

• CANCELLED

Tuesday December 2nd 2014, part 5:

• Imaging and k-space. Echo time revisited.
• k-space trajectories, artifacts (distortions, ghosting and aliasing), noise and image quality quantification.

Tuesday December 9th 2014, MRI acquisition, part 6:

• Flow and diffusion weighting, BOLD fMRI and/or spectroscopy depending on wishes.

Tuesday December 16th 2014, part 7:

• May be used for follow-up or extra topics.

The lecture plan is adjusted with respect to both subjects and timing during the course, and to some degree based on participant wishes. Updates are distributed to registered participants (see above).