Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) tomography of the central nervous system: comparison of two imaging sequences.

A brief description of a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging system and preliminary results from its clinical evaluation in the study of various central nervous system diseases are presented. Particular attention is paid to NMR capabilities for soft tissue discrimination, topographical demarcation, and specificity of diagnosis. Two imaging sequences were used: (a) Spin echo measurements with four sets of imaging parameters revealed the different appearances of normal and pathological structures. (b) Inversion recovery images showed marked gray-white matter contrast and clear depiction of pathological lesions. Finally, a number of measurements of longitudinal (T1) and transverse (T2) relaxation times of normal and pathological tissues were carried out.