Is it ok for patients to have both an MR and a CT with contrast on the same day

This question was addressed on the RSNA site and there is no issue doing both MRI and CT the same day with Gadolinium and Iodinated Contrast.

Here is more detailed information courtesy of Richard A. Vitti MD from Medical Affairs at GE Healthcare.

CT contrast, or X-ray contrast for IV use, is usually an iodinated compound, whereas most MRI contrast media contains a heavy metal ion usually gadolinium. Iodine provides contrast by virtue of absorption of X-rays at the K-edge. Gd provides contrast in MR by changing the magnetic moment. Generally these agents distribute themselves from the vascular space to the interstitial space of soft tissues, and are elminated by glomerular filtration by the kidneys.

TR and TE

TR and TE are basic pulse sequence parameters and stand for repetition time and echo timerespectively. They are typically measured in milliseconds (ms).

Pulse Sequence Part I

• Without pulse sequences we can‟t do MRI. Our life depends on it in terms of which kind of image contrast we want to see or, even, which kind of pathology we want to detect.
• Understanding what a pulse sequence is and how it influences the image is vitally important.
• A pulse sequence is a sequence of events, which we need to acquire MRI images.
• These events are: RF pulses, gradient switches and signal collecting.

Pulse Sequence Overview a

Pulse Sequence Overview

• An MRI sequence is a number of radiofrequency pulses and gradients that result in a set of images with particular appearance.
• This section presents a simplified approach to recognising and thinking about common MRI sequences, but does not concern itself with the particulars of each sequences.