Magnetic resonance imaging or Nuclear

magnetic resonance imaging is primarily a

medical imaging technique most commonly
used in Radiology to visualize the structure and
function of the body.

It was started around 1946 by FELIX BLOCK ,

who got nobel price for MRI , now only it got
popularised.

MRI is a relatively new technology, which has

been in use for less than 30 years the first
study performed on a human took place on
July 3, 1977.
ADVANTAGES

SUPERIOR CONTRAST RESOLUTION.

 HARMFULL RADIATIONS LIKE X rays, GAMMA

rays are not produced since it is a non invasive
technique.

High accuracy.

MRI is used to image every part of the body,

but is particularly useful in neurological
conditions, disorders of the muscles and joints,
for evaluating tumors and showing
Magnetic Resonance
Imaging
 Elements of MRI
 Nuclear Magnetism
 Hardware
 Contrast

 Applications of MRI
 Tumor Detection
 Blood flow
 Brain Imaging
NMR Hardware
Control Room

Scanner

Console

Saturday Morning Physics: Nuclear Magnets

NMR Hardware
Scanner

Liquid Helium Cooled

1.5 Tesla Solenoid Magnet

Radiofrequency
Transmitter/Recieiver
Coil

Patient Platform

Saturday Morning Physics: Nuclear Magnets

 Laser Polarized Gas Lung
Imaging
Chronic Obsructive Pulmonary Disease Healthy
(COPD) Volunteer

University of Virginia: used with permission

 Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Functional MRI SCAN of Physics 290 Student (Winter 2000

How MRI works

When a person lies in a scanner, the hydrogen

nuclei (i.e., protons) found in abundance in the
human body in water molecules, align with the
strong main magnetic field.

A second electromagnetic field, which oscillates

at radiofrequencies and is perpendicular to the
main field, is then pulsed to push a proportion of
the protons out of alignment with the main field.

These protons then drift back into alignment

with the main field, emitting a detectable
radiofrequency signal.
Since protons in different tissues of the body (e.g., fat
vs. muscle) realign at different speeds, the different
structures of the body can be revealed.

Unlike CT scanning MRI uses no ionizing radiation

and is generally a very safe procedure.

Patients with some metal implants and cardiac

pacemakers are prevented from having an MRI scan
due to effects of the strong magnetic field and powerful
radiofrequency pulses.
 1.5 Tesla

DC Current
1000 Amps

Solenoid Magnet

Conventional Magnet: Many kilowatts (P=I2 R)

Superconducting Magnet: Zero Electrical Resistance

Saturday Morning Physics: Nuclear Magnets

PHYSICS PRINCIPLE
Subatomic particles such as protons have the
quantum mechanical property of spin.

 Certain nuclei such as 1H (protons), 2H, 3He,

23
Na or 31 P, have a non–zero spin and therefore a
magnetic moment.

In the case of the so-called spin-1/2 nuclei, such

as 1H, there are two spin states, sometimes
referred to as "up&down"When these spins are
placed in a strong external magnetic field they
precess around an axis along the direction of the
field.
Protons align in two energy eigenstates one
low-energy, and one high-energy, which are
RESONANCE & RELAXATION

In the static magnetic fields commonly used in

MRI, the energy difference between the nuclear
spin states corresponds to a photon at
radio frequency (rf) wavelengths.

The net magnetization vector has two

components.

The longitudinal magnetization is due to a tiny

excess of protons in the lower energy state.

When the radio frequency pulse is turned off,

the transverse vector component produces an
oscillating magnetic field which induces a small
This signal is called the free induction decay.

The transverse magnetization is due to

coherences forming between the two proton
energy states.

The recovery of longitudinal magnetization is

called longitudinal or T1 relaxation.

The loss of phase coherence in the transverse

plane is called transverse or T2 relaxation.

T1 is thus associated with the enthalpy of the

spin system while T2 is associated with its
IMAGING PROCESS

A number of schemes have been devised for

combining field gradients and radiofrequency
excitation to create an image.

One involves 2D or 3D reconstruction from

projections, much as in Computed Tomography.
Others involve building the image point-by-point
or line-by-line.

The majority of MR Images today are created

either by the Two-Dimensional Fourier Transform
(2DFT) technique with slice selection, or by the
Three-Dimensional Fourier Transform (3DFT)
Another name for 2DFT is spin-warp. What
follows here is a description of the 2DFT
technique with slice selection.

Slice selection is achieved by applying a

magnetic gradient in addition to the external
magnetic field during the radio frequency pulse.

The relative change in the field strength

depends on the electronic interaction with other
atoms –CHEMICAL SHIFT.
Tomography: Pulse Sequence
• Step 1. Slice Selection Pulse

• Step 2: Apply Gradients (encode)

4

• Step 3: Measure
2

-2

-4
0 20 40 60 80 100 120

t (kx)
Fourier Transform
• Step 4: decodeM x
4
Time
y1
3

1 y4
0

x
0 20 40 60 80 100 120

Saturday Morning Physics: Nuclear Magnets

 Encoding Position

Frequency Magnetic Field

(MHz) (Tesla)
1.51
64.2

64.0
1.50
63.8

63.6
1.49
POSITION

MAGENTIC FIELD GRADIENT

Saturday Morning Physics: Nuclear Magnets