Why Didn't My RF Pulse Work?
Sunrise Course
ORGANIZERS: Natalia Gudino, Shao Huang, Doug Kelley, Andrew Webb
Wednesday, 14 May 2025
311
07:00 -
08:00
Moderators: Adam Kerr
Skill Level: Intermediate
Session Number: S-W-06
No CME/CE Credit
Session Number: S-W-06
Overview
Introducing a new RF pulse or optimizing an old one for a new application requires understanding not just how the pulse should work but how the system hardware can affect the performance of the pulse. Building on the weekend Physics and Engineering courses, this session will dive into RF pulses and their misbehavior.
Target Audience
Scientists and engineers wishing to develop RF pulses for particular applications
Educational Objectives
As a result of attending this course, participants should be able to:
• Describe and understand different classes of RF pulses and their key design parameters;
• Describe and understand how RF pulses are generated and how their performance can be limited by system imperfections; and
• Describe and understand methods for B1 calibration and mapping, slice profile measurements, and how to diagnose and correct performance problems.
| 07:00 |  | RF Pulse Types & Simulation Paul Harvey Keywords: Physics & Engineering: Pulse design, Physics & Engineering: Physics RF pulses are fundamental in evoking and conditioning signals in MRI and an essential component in achieving signal localization and efficient data acquisition. The slice-selective RF pulse is the foundation of most RF pulses used in MRI today. This lecture begins with the history of slice selection, then explores the evolution from basic hard pulses to selective excitation, refocusing pulses, adiabatic pulses, specialized pulses, and multi-dimensional pulses. Computer-based simulations illustrate the properties and methods for generating and optimizing RF pulses. After a brief overview of simulation tools, the lecture will demonstrate the translation from physics to simulation through coded examples. |
| 07:20 | | Transmit Signal Chain & Calibration Ergin Atalar |
| 07:40 | | Gradient & RF Modulation: Multidimensional Pulses (Including Spectral-Spatial Pulses) TBD |