ABR study guide topics

Where you see text within lines and accompanied by the specs logo, this indicates content that would be especially useful for those studying for the American Boards of Radiology.

The list below indicates the location of that content throughout the book.

  1. Magnetic fields
    1. Magnetic susceptibility – 1.6
    2. Types of magnetic materials – 1.6
    3. Magnetic Fields (B) – 1.1
    4. Magnetic moment interaction with an external field (B0): the Larmor equation and precessional frequency – 1.4
    5. Net magnetization due to B0 and field strength – 1.5
  2. Nuclear MR and excitation – 2.1
  3. MR signal properties
    1. Spin density (proton) – 3.1
    2. T2 (transverse) relaxation – 3.2
    3. T2* relaxation – 3.2
    4. T1 (longitudinal) relaxation – 3.1
    5. T1 weighting, T2 weighting, proton density-weighting – 6.1
  4. Pulse sequences and contrast mechanisms
    1. Echo time (TE), repetition time (TR), and inversion time (TI) – 6.1, 6.4
    2. Spin-echo (SE) pulse sequences – 6.1
    3. Inversion-recovery spin-echo pulse sequences – 6.4
    4. Gradient-echo (GE or GRE) pulse sequences – 6.2
    5. Echo-planar (EPI) pulse sequences – 6.3
    6. Fast- or turbo-spin-echo (FSE) pulse sequences – 6.1
    7. Manipulation of pulse sequence characteristics – 7.1
  5. MR instrumentation
    1. Static magnetic field (B0) systems – 14.2
    2. Gradient fields and the gradient subsystem – 14.3
    3. Shimming and shim coils – 14.2
    4. Radiofrequency transmitter (B1) subsystem – 14.4
    5. Radiofrequency receiver subsystem – 14.5
    6. Radiofrequency coils – 14.5
  6. Spatial localization
    1. Slice-selection – 4.2
    2. Phase-encoding – 4.4
    3. Frequency-encoding – 4.3
  7. Two-dimensional Fourier transform (2DFT) image reconstruction – 5.3
    1. k-space description – 5.5
    2. Methods of filling k-space – 5.6, 5.7
  8. Image characteristics
    1. Factors affecting spatial resolution – 4.2, 4.3, 4.4
    2. Factors affecting signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) – 5.4, 7.3.2
    3. Tradeoffs among spatial resolution, SNR, and acquisition time – 5.4, 7.3
    4. Factors affecting image contrast – 7.1, 7.3.1
  9. Contrast agents – 15
  10. Spatial saturation and fat suppression – 8.1, 8.3, 8.4
  11. Special acquisition techniques
    1. Angiography – 11
    2. Diffusion, perfusion and neuro imaging – 12.1, 12.2, 17.3.1
    3. Functional MRI (fMRI) – 12.3
    4. Magnetization transfer contrast (MTC) – 8.2
  12. Artifacts – 9
  13. Safety, bioeffects, and FDA limits
    1. Static magnetic field (ferromagnetic materials) – 16.1
    2. Radiofrequency field (heating) – 16.4
    3. Gradient field (nerve stimulation) – 16.3
    4. Contrast agent safety issues – 16.5