How to scan polymer gels with MRI?

The absorbed radiation dose fixated in a polymer gel dosimeter can be read out by several methods such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), optical CT, X-ray CT and ultrasound with MRI being the first method that was explored. Although MRI was considered as an elegant scanning technique, readily available in most hospitals, it was later found that using a non-optimized imaging protocol may result in unacceptable deviations in the obtained dose distribution. Although most medical physicists have an understanding of the basic principles of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the optimization of quantitative imaging sequences and protocols is often perceived as the work of MRI experts. In this paper, we aim at providing the reader with some easy guidelines in how to obtain reliable quantitative MRI maps.