OCTOBER 2014 • Vol. 3, Issue 4

Brain MR Imaging Techniques Covered in Latest Home Study

We are pleased to present the SMRT Educational Seminars, Volume 17, Number 4: “Brain MR Imaging Techniques.” (coming soon!) This is the 66^th accredited home study developed by the SMRT, exclusively for SMRT members. The accreditation is conducted by the SMRT acting as a RCEEM (Recognized Continuing Education Evaluation Mechanism) for the ARRT. Category A credits are assigned to each home study, which can be used to maintain one’s ARRT advanced registry. SMRT Home Studies are also approved for AIR (Australian Institute of Radiography), NZIMRT (New Zealand Institute of Radiation Technology) and CPD Now (The College of Radiographers, United Kingdom) continuing professional development (CPD) activities.

Three peer-reviewed articles have been chosen for this home study issue. As introduced in the first article, "Ischemic stroke is the most common neurological cause of severe disability and death." The authors reinforce the significant role of medical imaging by saying "The most important service that imaging provides to patients with ischemic stroke is to rapidly identify those patients who are most likely to benefit from immediate treatment."

The authors of the second article focus on "Arterial spin labeling (ASL) methods (that) allow for quantitative mapping of tissue perfusion in absolute units, without the use of contrast agents." In this review "three classes of labeling methods for ASL are described and compared: continuous, pulsed, and velocity-selective."

In the third and final article, the authors begin by telling us "MRI has become a reliable tool in medical imaging for assessing morphological and functional details of the human body in a noninvasive manner. Perfusion is an important parameter to assess status and functionality of tissue and organs." The authors focus on "summarizing the different approaches to measure perfusion based on MRI."

A special thank you to Nancy Hill Beluk, R.T.(R)(MR), Research Coordinator, Pediatric Imaging Research Center, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh (UPMC), Pennsylvania, for acting as the Expert Reviewer.

Thanks also to Heidi Berns, M.S., R.T.(R)(MR), FSMRT, Chair of the SMRT RCEEM Ad-hoc committee from Coralville, Iowa, USA and all those who participate on this committee by reviewing the home studies for accreditation. Finally, many thanks to Kerry Crockett, Associate Executive Director, Mary Keydash, Publications Director, Linda O-Brown, SMRT Coordinator, Sally Moran, Director of Electronic Communications and the entire staff in the Berkeley, California, USA office of the ISMRM and SMRT for their insight and long hours spent supporting these educational symposia.