FLAIR MRI: Understanding Fluid Attenuation Inversion Recovery & Its Applications

Magnetic resonance imaging allows a researcher to image the human body, including the brain. Various techniques optimize MRI scans of different parts of the body, including a fluid attenuation inversion recovery, or FLAIR, sequence.

Fluid Signal Suppression

• FLAIR sequences suppress the signals generated by fluids in the body, explains Mr-Tip.com. For example, FLAIR sequences suppress unwanted signals from cerebrospinal fluid in the brain, and darken the portions of the images containing this fluid.

Visualizing Lesions

• Some MRI techniques cannot image lesions well, as bright fluid signals obscure them. FLAIR's suppression of fluid signals allows enhanced visualization of lesions, according to the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation, which makes FLAIR a vital diagnostic technique for MS.

Assessment of Cerebral Infarction

• A cerebral infarction restricts blood flow in the brain, and can result in a stroke. According to a 1996 study conducted by Michael Brant-Zawadzki and colleagues at two Southern California hospitals and published in the journal "Stroke," a FLAIR sequence provided solid assessments of cerebral infarctions. The researchers found FLAIR superior to other MRI techniques.