Quick Overview

The entry slice phenomenon arise in MRI when blood with unsaturated spins flows in the observed slice(s). These spins will emit a strong signal, because of their unsaturated status (flow related enhancement). The number of slices affected depends on the flow velocity and the slice thickness; the direction of flow determines which slices are affected. Time of Flight MRA is based on this entry slice phenomenon.

See also Flow Compensation, Flow Related Enhancement, Artifact Overview and Artifacts Reduction Index.

The FEER method was the first clinically useful flow quantification method using phase effects, from which all spin phase related flow quantification techniques currently in use are derived.
In this sequence a gradient echo is measured after a gradient with flow compensation. The measured signal phase should be zero for all pixels. A deviation from gradient symmetry by shifting the gradient ramp slightly away from the symmetry condition will impart a defined phase shift to the magnetization vectors associated with spins from pixels with flow.
Slight stable variations in the magnetic field across the imaging volume will prevent the phase angle from being uniformly zero throughout the volume in the flow-compensated image. The first image (acquired without gradient shift) serves as reference, defining the values of all pixel phase angles in the flow (motion) compensated sequence. Ensuing images with gradient phase shifts imparted in each of the 3 spatial axes will then permit measurement of the 3 components of the velocity vector v = (vx, vy, vz) by calculating the respective phases px, py and pz by simply subtracting the pixel phases measured in the compensated image from the 3 images with a well defined velocity sensitization.
The determination of all 3 components of the velocity vector requires the measurement of 4 images.
The phase quantification requires an imaging time four times longer than the simple measurement of a phase image and associated magnitude image. If only one arbitrary flow direction is of interest, it suffices to acquire the reference image plus one image velocity sensitized in the arbitrary direction of interest.

See also Flow Quantification.

(FRE) Flow related enhancement could be seen most for blood flow, but also for other liquids with some MR imaging techniques, as an increase in intensity due to the washout of saturated spins. FRE provides positive contrast ("bright blood") of vascular details in time of flight MRA as well as the physiologic characterization of blood flow.
If stationary spins within the scanned region experience only an incomplete T1 relaxation between the repeated radio frequency (RF) excitations, this results in fewer signal of the stationary tissue (compared to inflowing blood with completely relaxed spins). The degree of the flow related enhancement is proportional to the blood flow velocity and the used repetition time. The use of flow compensation (gradient moment nulling) improves the FRE especially in gradient echo sequences.

Quick Overview

Ghosting artifacts are in the most cases caused by movements (e.g., respiratory motion, bowel motion, arterial pulsations, swallowing, and heartbeat) and appear in the phase encoding direction.

Ghosting artifacts can be reduced by respiratory and cardiac triggering, the use of breath holding pulse sequences, flow compensation or presaturation pulses, depending on their origin. To reduce bowel motion also pharmaceuticals, such as glucagon or scopolamine are useful. This will decrease artifacts from both peristalsis and breathing.

See also Motion Artifact, Phase Encoded Motion Artifact, Cardiac Motion Artifact, and Artifact Reduction - Motion.

(GMR) The application of strategic gradient pulses can compensate the objectionable spin phase effects of flow motion. That means the reducing of flow effects, e.g. gradient moment nulling of the first order of flow. The simplest velocity-compensated pulse sequence is the symmetrical second echo of a spin echo pulse sequence.
Gradient field changes can be configured in such a way that during an echo the magnetization signal vectors for all pixels have zero phase angle independent of velocities, accelerations etc. of the measured tissue. E.g. the adjustment to zero at the time TE of the net moments of the amplitude of the waveform of the magnetic field gradients with time. The zeroth moment is the area under the curve, the first moment is the 'center of gravity' etc. The aim is to minimize the phase shifts acquired by the transverse magnetization of excited nuclei moving along the gradients (including the effect of refocusing RF pulses), particularly for the reduction of image artifacts due to motion.
Also called Flow Compensation (FC), Motion Artifact Suppression Technique (MAST), Flow motion compression (STILL), Gradient Rephasing (GR), Shimadzu Motion Artifact Reduction Technique (SMART).