Template:Table of MRI sequences

This table is used in the following articles:

• Magnetic resonance imaging#Sequences
• MRI sequences#Overview table
• Physics of magnetic resonance imaging#Overview of main sequences.

This table does not include uncommon and experimental sequences.

Group	Sequence	Abbr.	Physics	Main clinical distinctions	Example
Spin echo	T1 weighted	T1	Measuring spin–lattice relaxation by using a short repetition time (TR) and echo time (TE).	Lower signal for more water content, as in edema, tumor, infarction, inflammation, infection, hyperacute or chronic hemorrhage. High signal for fat High signal for paramagnetic substances, such as MRI contrast agents Standard foundation and comparison for other sequences	File:T1-weighted-MRI.png
	T2 weighted	T2	Measuring spin–spin relaxation by using long TR and TE times	Higher signal for more water content Low signal for fat in standard Spine Echo (SE), though not with Fast Spin Echo/Turbo Spin Echo (FSE/TSE). FSE/TSE is the standard of care in modern medicine because it is faster. With FSE/TSE, fat has high signal due to disruption of hyperfine J-coupling between adjacent fat protons. Low signal for paramagnetic substances Standard foundation and comparison for other sequences	File:Normal axial T2-weighted MR image of the brain.jpg
	Proton density weighted	PD	Long TR (to reduce T1) and short TE (to minimize T2).	Joint disease and injury. High signal from meniscus tears. (pictured)	File:Proton density MRI of a grade 2 medial meniscal tear.jpg
Gradient echo (GRE)	Steady-state free precession	SSFP	Maintenance of a steady, residual transverse magnetisation over successive cycles.	Creation of cardiac MRI videos (pictured).	File:Four chamber cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging.gif
	Effective T2 or "T2-star"	T2*	Spoiled gradient recalled echo (GRE) with a long echo time and small flip angle	Low signal from hemosiderin deposits (pictured) and hemorrhages.	File:Effective T2-weighted MRI of hemosiderin deposits after subarachnoid hemorrhage.png
	Susceptibility-weighted	SWI	Spoiled gradient recalled echo (GRE), fully flow compensated, long echo time, combines phase image with magnitude image	Detecting small amounts of hemorrhage (diffuse axonal injury pictured) or calcium.	File:Susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI) in diffuse axonal injury.jpg
Inversion recovery	Short tau inversion recovery	STIR	Fat suppression by setting an inversion time where the signal of fat is zero.	High signal in edema, such as in more severe stress fracture. Shin splints pictured:	File:Shinsplint-mri (crop).jpg
	Fluid-attenuated inversion recovery	FLAIR	Fluid suppression by setting an inversion time that nulls fluids	High signal in lacunar infarction, multiple sclerosis (MS) plaques, subarachnoid haemorrhage and meningitis (pictured).	File:FLAIR MRI of meningitis.jpg
	Double inversion recovery	DIR	Simultaneous suppression of cerebrospinal fluid and white matter by two inversion times.	High signal of multiple sclerosis plaques (pictured).	File:Axial DIR MRI of a brain with multiple sclerosis lesions.jpg
Diffusion weighted (DWI)	Conventional	DWI	Measure of Brownian motion of water molecules.	High signal within minutes of cerebral infarction (pictured).	File:Cerebral infarction after 4 hours on DWI MRI.jpg
	Apparent diffusion coefficient	ADC	Reduced T2 weighting by taking multiple conventional DWI images with different DWI weighting, and the change corresponds to diffusion.	Low signal minutes after cerebral infarction (pictured).	File:Cerebral infarction after 4 hours on ADC MRI.jpg
	Diffusion tensor	DTI	Mainly tractography (pictured) by an overall greater Brownian motion of water molecules in the directions of nerve fibers.	Evaluating white matter deformation by tumors Reduced fractional anisotropy may indicate dementia.	File:White Matter Connections Obtained with MRI Tractography.png
Perfusion weighted (PWI)	Dynamic susceptibility contrast	DSC	Measures changes over time in susceptibility-induced signal loss due to gadolinium contrast injection.	Provides measurements of blood flow In cerebral infarction, the infarcted core and the penumbra have decreased perfusion and delayed contrast arrival (pictured).	File:Tmax by MRI perfusion in cerebral artery occlusion.jpg
	Arterial spin labelling	ASL	Magnetic labeling of arterial blood below the imaging slab, which subsequently enters the region of interest. It does not need gadolinium contrast.
	Dynamic contrast enhanced	DCE	Measures changes over time in the shortening of the spin–lattice relaxation (T1) induced by a gadolinium contrast bolus.	Faster Gd contrast uptake along with other features is suggestive of malignancy (pictured).	File:Breast dce-mri.jpg
Functional MRI (fMRI)	Blood-oxygen-level dependent imaging	BOLD	Changes in oxygen saturation-dependent magnetism of hemoglobin reflects tissue activity.	Localizing brain activity from performing an assigned task (e.g. talking, moving fingers) before surgery, also used in research of cognition.	File:1206 FMRI.jpg
Magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) and venography	Time-of-flight	TOF	Blood entering the imaged area is not yet magnetically saturated, giving it a much higher signal when using short echo time and flow compensation.	Detection of aneurysm, stenosis, or dissection	File:Mra-mip.jpg
	Phase-contrast magnetic resonance imaging	PC-MRA	Two gradients with equal magnitude, but opposite direction, are used to encode a phase shift, which is proportional to the velocity of spins.	Detection of aneurysm, stenosis, or dissection (pictured).	File:Vastly undersampled Isotropic Projection Reconstruction (VIPR) Phase Contrast (PC) sequence MRI of arterial dissections.jpg (VIPR)