Routine Brain MRI
Standard brain MRI protocol — T1, T2, FLAIR, DWI, and usually susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI / SWAN), with optional post-contrast T1. Indications span stroke (DWI early detection), MS plaque burden (FLAIR), tumor follow-up, infection, headache workup, and trauma sequelae. The most-volume MR protocol globally and the bread-and-butter throughput exam on any clinical magnet.
Clinical pathway
- Patient screening — implanted device compatibility, prior ferromagnetic foreign body (orbital shrapnel), claustrophobia, renal function for contrast.
- Head coil — 32- or 48-channel head / neck coil standard on 3T; 16- or 20-channel on community 1.5T.
- Localizer + standard sequences — sag T1, ax T2, ax FLAIR, ax DWI, SWI.
- Post-contrast T1 if indicated — gadolinium-based contrast at standard weight-based dose.
- Advanced sequences as ordered — MRA, MRV, MR spectroscopy, perfusion, DTI, fMRI.
Typical systems
- Siemens MAGNETOM Vida 3T
- Siemens MAGNETOM Skyra 3T (large refurb base)
- GE Signa Premier 3T
- Philips Ingenia Elition 3T
- Philips Ingenia 3T
- Siemens MAGNETOM Sempra 1.5T (community)
- Siemens MAGNETOM Aera 1.5T (workhorse refurb)
Room + procedure characteristics
- Scan time: 20–40 min standard; compressed-sensing / deep-learning reconstruction cuts to 10–15 min on capable platforms.
- Dose: none (non-ionizing); gadolinium contraindicated / used cautiously in severe renal impairment; NSF risk minimized with macrocyclic agents.
- Team: MR tech + neuroradiologist.
Equipment considerations that bite
- Field strength shapes program, not just image quality. 3T is mandatory for advanced neuro (DTI, fMRI, MR spectroscopy) at clinical quality; routine brain MRI runs cleanly at 1.5T.
- Head coil channel count — 32+ channel coils enable parallel imaging acceleration that drops routine brain time from 30+ min to 15–20 min. A 3T installed with an 8-channel head coil performs like a 1.5T at clinical scan times.
- Acceleration license tier — Compressed SENSE (Philips), Deep Resolve (Siemens), AIR Recon DL (GE) materially shift throughput. A refurb without the acceleration license runs at the older platform's speed regardless of chassis age.
- Cryogen posture — sealed-bore / zero-boil-off magnets (BlueSeal on Philips, equivalents) lower lifetime helium cost. Confirm the magnet variant — not all installs of a given model are zero-boil-off.
Operational reality
- Throughput is sequence-time-limited, not scanner-availability-limited at most volume sites. Acceleration features are the lever for adding patients per day, not buying a second magnet.
- Patient flow — gowning, screening, IV placement, table dwell. A 20-min sequence with 15-min turnover is a 35-min slot.
- Refurb economics for community-tier brain MRI track coil inventory and software-tier far more than the chassis nameplate.