For T1 or T2, enter TR and TE and leave TI blank. For STIR or FLAIR, enter TR, TE, and TI.
Enter TR, phase matrix, NEX, and ETL to calculate scan time. TE, TI, and bandwidth add sequence-specific guidance.
What Common MRI Sequences Are Good For
These are common roles, not diagnoses. Protocol selection depends on the anatomy and clinical question.
T1-weighted
Anatomy and post-contrast enhancement
Provides strong anatomic contrast between fat, muscle, and fluid. Pre- and post-gadolinium T1 images are commonly compared to evaluate enhancement.
T2-weighted
Fluid-sensitive pathology assessment
Makes many fluids bright, helping reveal edema, inflammation, fluid collections, and other water-rich abnormalities. It is sensitive but not specific to one disease.
Proton density (PD)
Detailed musculoskeletal anatomy
Offers high signal and fine structural detail. PD and PD fat-suppressed imaging are commonly useful for cartilage, menisci, ligaments, and tendons.
STIR
Fat suppression and edema detection
Suppresses fat to make marrow and soft-tissue edema conspicuous. It is useful when uniform fat suppression is needed, but is generally not used to assess gadolinium enhancement.
T2 FLAIR
Brain lesions near cerebrospinal fluid
Suppresses bright CSF while preserving T2-sensitive abnormalities, improving visibility of periventricular and cortical-adjacent lesions, edema, and white-matter disease.
DWI with ADC
Restricted diffusion
Especially useful in acute ischemic stroke and can help assess abscesses and hypercellular lesions. DWI should be interpreted with the ADC map to avoid T2 shine-through.
GRE T2* / SWI
Blood products and susceptibility
Sensitive to hemorrhage, microbleeds, iron, veins, and some calcification. Other sequences or CT may be needed to distinguish the source of susceptibility.
TI helps distinguish short-TI STIR from long-TI FLAIR profiles, but the exact sequence still requires pulse-design, field-strength, and scanner-specific information.