T1 and T2 Relaxation Times

T1 and T2 relaxation times are measures of how hydrogen nuclei in your body respond after being excited by a magnetic field, as seen in MRI scans. T1 (longitudinal relaxation) reflects the time it takes for protons to realign with the magnetic field after excitation, influencing the brightness of tissues on certain MRI images. T2 (transverse relaxation) measures how quickly signals from protons lose coherence, affecting image contrast and detail. Different tissues have distinct T1 and T2 times, allowing MRI to differentiate between types of tissue and identify abnormalities.