MRI Pulse Sequence Construction & Image Contrast (MRES7400)

Course overview

This course aims to equip students with a comprehensive understanding of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) sequences commonly used in clinical and research settings. Students will gain an in-depth understanding of the building blocks of MRI sequences, including radiofrequency (RF) pulses, magnetic field gradients, spatial encoding methods, and signal sampling. They will learn their characteristics and manipulation methods and how to combine them to form different sequences that produce images with various contrast weightings, such as proton density, T1-, T2, T2* and other contrasts.

Starting from the basic gradient-echo and spin-echo sequences, students will explore the composition and parameters of various sequences and how to vary them to achieve different contrasts. More advanced and emerging sequences will also be explored, enabling students to confidently manipulate scanner parameters and generate desired MRI contrast.

MR images are prone to artefacts from various sources, and identifying them is essential for MRI researchers and technicians. This course will introduce the different types of static and dynamic artefacts that commonly occur on MR images, explain their causes and the methods to eliminate or reduce them.

The skills and knowledge attained in this course will prepare students of the program for later courses in advanced applications of MRI and practical operation of MRI scanners within the clinical environment.

This foundation course is compulsory within the post-graduate Master of Magnetic Resonance Technology. It will provide the background knowledge that is essential to understand the material presented in later courses and provides an introduction to practical MRI pulse sequence design and construction. The application of these principles is described to analyse and understand the origin of signal and its contrast weighting in a number of sequences that are important in clinical diagnostic imaging and in research.

Course requirements

Assumed background

This course assumes successful completion of MRES7100, Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Fundamentals

Recommended prerequisites

We recommend completing the following courses before enrolling in this one:

MRES7100

Incompatible

You can't enrol in this course if you've already completed the following:

MRES7004

Jointly taught details

This course is jointly-taught with:

• Another instance of the same course

MRES7400 In-person and MRES7400 External are jointly taught.

Course contact

Course staff

Timetable

The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.

Additional timetable information

This semester, lectures and tutorials will be delivered simultaneously in person and online. Lectures and tutorials will be recorded and uploaded to Blackboard, but students are encouraged to attend in person or join online. Tutorials will be held after the lecture on Weeks 3, 4, 6, 8, and 10. There will be no lecture or tutorial on WEEK 10 (Labour Day). Lectures and tutorials will be held in the Centre for Advanced Imaging, located in Building #57 on the St Lucia campus.

Please note that all times are provided in Brisbane time, and Brisbane has NO daylight saving.

Aims and outcomes

Upon finishing this course, students will gain a comprehensive understanding of the implementation and parameters of various clinically important and commonly used sequences. They will also gain an in-depth understanding of how the choice of sequence parameters affects the contrast of images. Students will be capable of identifying common artefacts on MR images and reducing them by changing the parameters.

Learning outcomes

After successfully completing this course you should be able to:

Assessment

Assessment summary

A hurdle is an assessment requirement that must be satisfied in order to receive a specific grade for the course. Check the assessment details for more information about hurdle requirements.

Assessment details

Online quizzes based on modules

• Online

Mode

Written

Category

Quiz

Weight

30%

Due date

Quiz 1: Entry Assessment Week 3, Fri 2:00 pm

Quiz 2: Module 2 & 3 Week 4, Fri 2:00 pm

Quiz 3: Module 4 & 5 Week 5, Fri 2:00 pm

Quiz 4: Module 6 & 7 Week 7, Fri 2:00 pm

Quiz 5: Module 8 & 9 Week 9, Fri 2:00 pm

Quiz 6: Module 10 & 11 Week 12, Fri 2:00 pm

Each quiz is designed to cover the material of two modules except Quiz 1, which tests fundamental MRI concepts. Quiz 1 will be available when the course starts, and the other quizzes will be released before the lecture on the first module and will be due by 2:00 PM on the Friday following the lecture for the second module.

Task description

Submission guidelines

Students will submit their answers online. They are allowed two attempts for Quiz 1 and one attempt for Quizzes 2-6.

Deferral or extension

You cannot defer or apply for an extension for this assessment.

An extension is not available for this quiz due to the answers being discussed in the next available tutorial. However, successful applications for an extension in extenuating circumstances may be offered an alternative assessment. If there are extenuating circumstances why you were unable to complete your quiz then please email smp.student@uq.edu.au. You will need to do this within 5 calendar days of your quiz and include evidence (e.g., medical certificate).

See ADDITIONAL ASSESSMENT INFORMATION for extension/deferral information relating to this assessment item.

Late submission

You will receive a mark of 0 if this assessment is submitted late.

Students must submit the answers online before the due date. Otherwise, the penalty will be applied. Submissions received after the quiz tutorial session will get zero marks for the quiz. The tutorial is usually scheduled for the following Monday after the due date, after the lecture (see Timetable).

The quizzes are open for several days and can not be accessed once closed. A 100% penalty will be applied if the quiz is not attempted within that period. 

Assignment

• Online

Mode

Written

Category

Paper/ Report/ Annotation, Essay/ Critique, Quiz

Weight

30%

Due date

Week 10, Fri 2:00 pm

Task description

Submission guidelines

The students will submit their answers via TurnItIn on Blackboard. Students are permitted to submit a draft prior to final submission.

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

The maximum extension allowed is 28 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.

See ADDITIONAL ASSESSMENT INFORMATION for the extension and deferred examination information relating to this assessment item.

Late submission

A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.

You are required to submit assessable items on time. If you fail to meet the submission deadline for any assessment item then the listed penalty will be deducted per day for up to 7 calendar days, at which point any submission will not receive any marks unless an extension has been approved. Each 24-hour block is recorded from the time the submission is due.

Final Examination

• Hurdle
• In-person

Mode

Written

Category

Examination

Weight

40%

Due date

End of Semester Exam Period

7/06/2025 - 21/06/2025

The exam schedule will be determined by the central examination at the end of the course.

Task description

Hurdle requirements

Exam details

Submission guidelines

Deferral or extension

You may be able to defer this exam.

See ADDITIONAL ASSESSMENT INFORMATION for the extension and deferred examination information relating to this assessment item.

Course grading

Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.

Additional course grading information

Students are required to achieve a mark of 45% in the final exam, and an overall mark of 50% to pass the course.

Supplementary assessment

Supplementary assessment is available for this course.

Should you fail a course with a grade of 3, you may be eligible for supplementary assessment. Refer to my.UQ for information on supplementary assessment and how to apply. 

Supplementary assessment provides an additional opportunity to demonstrate you have achieved all the required learning outcomes for a course.  

If you apply and are granted supplementary assessment, the type of supplementary assessment set will consider which learning outcome(s) have not been met.  

Supplementary assessment in this course will be a 2-hour examination similar in style to the end-of-semester examination. To receive a passing grade of 3S4, you must obtain a mark of 50% or more on the supplementary assessment.

Additional assessment information

Artificial Intelligence

Assessment tasks in this course evaluate students' abilities, skills and knowledge without the aid of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Machine Translation (MT). Students are advised that the use of AI or MT technologies to develop responses is strictly prohibited and may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.

Applications for Extensions to Assessment Due Dates

Extension requests are submitted online via my.UQ – applying for an extension. Extension requests received in any other way will not be approved. Additional details associated with extension requests, including acceptable and unacceptable reasons, may be found at my.UQ.

Please note:

• Requests for an extension to an assessment due date must be submitted through your my.UQ portal and you must provide documentation of your circumstances, as soon as it becomes evident that an extension is needed. Your application must be submitted on or before the assessment item's due date and time.
• Applications for extension can take time to be processed so you should continue to work on your assessment item while awaiting a decision. We recommend that you submit any completed work by the due date, and this will be marked if your application is not approved. Should your application be approved, then you will be able to resubmit by the agreed revised due date.
• If an extension is approved, you will be notified via your my.UQ portal and the new date and time for submission provided. It is important that you check the revised date as it may differ from the date that you requested.
• If the basis of the application is a medical condition, applications should be accompanied by a medical certificate dated prior to the assignment due date. If you are unable to provide documentation to support your application by the due date and time you must still submit your application on time and attach a written statement (Word document) outlining why you cannot provide the documentation. You must then upload the documentation to the portal within 24 hours.
• If an extension is being sought on the basis of exceptional circumstances, it must be accompanied by supporting documentation (eg. Statutory declaration).
• For extensions based on a SAP you may be granted a maximum of 7 days (if no earlier maximum date applies). See the Extension or Deferral availability section of each assessment for details. Your SAP is all that is required as documentation to support your application. However, additional extension requests for the assessment item will require the submission of additional supporting documentation e.g., a medical certificate. All extension requests must be received by the assessment due date and time.
• Students may be asked to submit evidence of work completed to date. Lack of adequate progress on your assessment item may result in an extension being denied.
• If you have been ill or unable to attend class for more than 14 days, you are advised to carefully consider whether you are capable of successfully completing your courses this semester. You might be eligible to withdraw without academic penalty - seek advice from the Faculty that administers your program.
• There are no provisions for exemption from an assessment item within UQ rules. If you are unable to submit an assessment piece then, under special circumstances, you may be granted an exemption, but may be required to submit alternative assessment to ensure all learning outcomes are met.

Applications to defer an exam

In certain circumstances you can apply to take a deferred examination for in-semester and end-of-semester exams. You'll need to demonstrate through supporting documentation how unavoidable circumstances prevented you from sitting your exam. If you can’t, you can apply for a one-off discretionary deferred exam.

Deferred Exam requests are submitted online via mySi-net. Requests received in any other way will not be approved. Additional details associated with deferred examinations, including acceptable and unacceptable reasons may be found at my.UQ.

Please note:

• Applications can be submitted no later than 5 calendar days after the date of the original exam.
• There are no provisions to defer a deferred exam. You need to be available to sit your deferred examination.
• Your deferred examination request(s) must have a status of "submitted" in mySI-net to be assessed.
• All applications for deferred in-semester examinations are assessed by the relevant school. Applications for deferred end-of-semester examinations are assessed by the Academic Services Division.
• You’ll receive an email to your student email account when the status of your application is updated.
• If you have a medical condition, mental health condition or disability and require alternative arrangements for your deferred exam you’ll need to complete the online alternative exam arrangements through my.UQ. This is in addition to your deferred examinations request. You need to submit this request on the same day as your request for a deferred exam or supplementary assessment. Contact Student Services if you need assistance completing your alternative exam arrangements request.

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Learning resources

You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.

Library resources

Find the required and recommended resources for this course on the UQ Library website.

Additional learning resources information

Students are encouraged to use the UQ Library services.

There is information about facilities available to remote students, including borrowing and photocopy requests. Students are also encouraged to access a number of international databases available through the library. The name and email address of the library contact person are distributed each semester, and students are assuredﾠof the librarian'sﾠwillingness to answer any queries.

Learning activities

The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.

Additional learning activity information

To accommodate the needs of students from different educational backgrounds, some concepts and knowledge will be explained in depth on the Blackboard website using text, graphics, or interactive materials. These materials are important for understanding the content of the lecture and are considered part of the course. Students need to study these materials and ask questions if needed.

Policies and procedures

University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:

• Student Code of Conduct Policy
• Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
• Assessment Procedure
• Examinations Procedure
• Reasonable Adjustments - Students Policy and Procedure

Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.