This book presents this complicated topic in a readable, understandable fashion without sacrificing the fundamental concepts. The reader will find comprehensive coverage of MRI physics, from basic principles to up-to-the-minute techniques, using a minimum of mathematics and employing state of the art images and instructive diagrams.

Introductory math -- Basic principles of MRI -- Radio frequency pulse -- T1, T2, and T2* -- TR, TE, and tissue contrast -- Tissue contrast: some clinical applications -- Pulse sequences: part I (Saturation, partial saturation, inversion recovery) -- Pulse sequences: part II (Spin echo) -- Fourier transform -- Image construction: part I (Slice selection) -- Image construction: part II (Spatial encoding) -- Signal processing -- Data space -- Pulse sequence diagram -- Field of view -- k-Space: the final frontier! -- Scan parameters and image optimization -- Artifacts in MRI -- Fast spin echo -- Gradient echo: part I (Basic principles) -- Gradient echo: part II (Fast scanning techniques) -- Echo planar imaging -- New scanning features -- Parallel imaging (by Mark Bydder, Ph. D.) -- Tissue suppression techniques -- Flow phenomena -- MR angiography (contributions by Jiang Du, Ph. D.) -- Cardiac MRI -- MR spectroscopy in the brain -- High performance gradients -- The many combinations of MRI.