Introduction to MRI Physics

Ian Miller

July 11, 2007

Goal of Todays Lecture

Relate the concepts of MRI physics to things that engineers
and neurophysiologists already understand
Lay the groundwork for more detailed understanding of
more complicated imaging techniques

Fast spin echo

Echo planar imaging
Volume imaging
3D time of flight
Diffusion

Why this is an Intimidating Topic

There are a myriad of basic physics principles involved,
each of which is individually important and hard to skip over
Need to simultaneously consider two scales
single particles
aggregates of billions of particles

There are multiple dimensions involved to keep straight

The math is complicated for non-engineers, and most of it is
vector-based
Its easy to convince yourself you get it

Organization of Discussion

Review of Relevant Basic Physical Principles

Magnetism
Resonance
Image Creation
T1 and T2
Anatomy of an MR Scanner
Future Topics

Current is the Flow of Charged

Particles
Abbreviated I
dQ
I
dt

Where
Q is charge
t is time

sodium
atom
sodium
ions
6
5
4
3
2
1

dQ
I
dt

6 atoms
3 seconds

Every Current Creates a Magnetic

Field
B

The current and the magnetic field have to be

perpendicular at all points. Therefore
Straight currents magnetic field loops surrounding them
Current loops have straight magnetic fields going through them

I
B

Thermal Energy is Stored as Molecular

At 0 K, all molecular motion ceases.
Motion

As heat is added, the molecules move around, absorbing the heat in various
ways:

The second law of thermodynamics requires that all

available mechanisms of thermal energy storage be used
For simpler molecules, the available options are fewer

Protons are Spinning Charges

Protons have charge and are constantly spinning

The charge can be thought of as distributed

This is a magnetic moment

Precession
Precession refers to a change in the direction of the axis of
a rotating object.
torque-free
torque-induced

It occurs when spinning objects experience a moment

outside the plane of rotation

Electromagnetic Radiation is Just

Light
Its all made up of photons

It all moves at the same speed

The difference between light we see (visible electromagnetic
radiation) and any other type is the frequency at which the
photon oscillates
x-rays

visible
light

radio waves

Light Absorption by e- is Quantized

Recall valence shell electron theory from high school
chemistry

You can get an electron to jump up to the next level by

supplying energy at the exact wavelength required

Absorption Spectra Show

Quantization

visible
light
The parts that are missing
were absorbed by the
electrons

Emission Spectra Show Quantization

E h

Emission
Experiment
Absorption Experiment
The requirement for the
precise amount of energy
needed is quantization

Exponential Change is Convenient to

Study
Exponential change occurs when the rate of change of a
quantity is proportional to the quantity itself

dQ
kQ
dt

k can be

Positive (exponential growth)

Negative (exponential decay)

We should love exponential change because it is relatively

easy to study
If you plot the quantity against time, k can be readily
calculated with a few data points, and there is only one
degree of freedom
You often already know two boundary conditions
q at time zero
q at time infinity

You only need one more!

Recap of Review Material

Current is the Flow of Charged Particles
Every Current Creates a Magnetic Field
Perpendicular at all points to the current

Thermal Energy is Stored as Molecular Motion

Protons are Spinning Charges
Protons have a current loop
Protons have a magnetic moment along the axis of rotation

Precession
Occurs when a spinning object experiences a moment out of the
plane of rotation

Electromagnetic Radiation is Just Light

Light Absorption by particles is Quantized
Absorption Spectra Show Quantization
Emission Spectra Show Quantization
Exponential Change is Convenient to Study

Now we need to scale up to the bulk / macroscopic scale

Magnetic Resonance Imaging

At rest, all protons spin (and translate) because of the presence of thermal
energy. The proton of a single hydrogen atom in the vacuum of space will spin for
this reason.

Net Magnetic
Field (M)

Net Magnetic
Field (M)

Entropy dictates that the spins within a group of protons are

not organized
Going from a single proton to a group of protons will yield all
possible orientations (which sum to zero)

MRI: Application of a Magnetic Field

Now lets return to what happens with a proton when you
apply an external magnetic field
There are two
effects here

B0

Alignment of spins
with the external
magnetic field
Precession,
because the
moment
experienced by the
proton is out of the
plane of rotation

They are related,

but different

MRI: Determinants of Spin Rate

The speed of precession of a spinning body in a field is
called the Larmor frequency, and we know a few things
about it
Zero when B0 = 0
Increases as magnetic field increases
We could do an experiment and plot the relationship
between B0 and precessional frequency

wL

Slope = gyromagnetic ratio

B0

Larmor freqency, and is dictated by

L B0

For protons wL is approximately 42 MHz/Tesla

B0

MRI: Scaling up to Populations

External Field = B0

No External Field

Single Proton

Population of Protons

Simplification
We cant stop a proton from spinning, so lets simplify our diagram

will now be

will now be

MRI: Scaling up to Populations

External Field = B0

In a big population of protons, more line up with the field

than against, but there is a distribution of both
Thermodynamics will tell us what the ratio is

B0

Difference in Energy Levels

N
e

E
kT

This is 500 ppm (small!)

k = Boltzmann
Constant

100,000
100,000

100,000

Net =
0
100,000

100,000
100,006

MRI works because we have

Avagadros numbers of protons
100,0020
100,050

B0
1 T, 37C

Weve Seen This Before

E h

The excitation of proton spins is a quantized system

So what is the frequency (v) needed to cause this excitation?

MRI: Combining Precession and

Quanta
wL

Slope = gyromagnetic ratio

B0

Gyromagnetic ratio = gamma = 42.58 MHz/T

The excitation frequency (for an individual proton) is going to
depend on the magnetic field (the individual proton)
experiences
This is the Resonance frequency
MRI

Understanding Resonance by
Analogy

The proton is like a tetherball

If you hit the tetherball at random intervals, its net vector is
random
If you hit the tetherball at exactly the right interval (equal to
its period of rotation around the pole), each hit is additive
and makes the ball go higher and higher
Think about the different scales: single tetherball vs. billions
of tetherballs

MRI: Identifying the EMF of Interest

Simplification

External Field = B0

Weve used B0 enough that we know what it is: a homogeneous external magnetic field

will now be
B0

Recipe for an NMR Experiment

1)
2)
3)
4)

Put sample in big magnetic field

Transmit radio waves into sample (saturate the protons)
Turn off radio wave transmitter
Receive radio waves re-transmitted by subject (relaxation)
Emission experiment
Who cares? (what are the applications of spectra?)
Immediately recognized that it could tell us about the local
magnetic environment of hydrogen protons

B0

You get a spectrum

because each hydrogen
atom has a different local
environment

Optimizing the NMR Experiment

Parallelizing the process: shooting the whole spectrum at
once
We would like to

Take a complex EMF wave

(Group of photons with different Frequencies)
Break it up into component frequencies
Use components to predict identity

We dont have a prism for radio waves

Enter the Fourier Transform
Put in amplitude-time data
Get out amplitude-frequency data

Made possible by state-ofthe-art computer

processors

Optimizing the NMR Experiment

B0

A prism is an example of a fourier transform

So is the cochlea

Lauterburs Insight
Conventional NMR used spectra to make
inferences about local magnetic perturbations
in a uniform magnetic field
If the magnetic field was instead made to vary
with position, then the resonant frequency
spectrum would instead tell you about location
in a uniform population of protons
Great idea

MRI: Slice Selection

The Larmor frequency is dependent on B0, the external
magnetic field

L B0
By varying B0 over the subject, we can choose a frequency
that will only excite a particular part of the subject

Different values of B0
will tune the photons
to require different
energies (w)
If we only give one
frequency of EMF,
only one slice will be
excited

MRI: Slice Selection

Now we have an excited plane of protons
We reset B0 so that the field is uniform
We wait for the energy to be re-transmitted as a radio signal
The results are not
very exciting
The whole signal is at
the frequency we put
in
It starts loud, and
exponentially decays

SX

SY
X
Z

Questions?

MRI: What We Have So Far

We have selectively charged a slab of brain with
radiofrequency EMF
We turned off the magnet, and got signals back from all over
the slab
What we need is to know where each signal came from

Right now, all we can see is the net magnetization vector,

but we can see it in several directions: x, y, z
Therefore we can measure signal averaged over the whole
slice
Thats not a very interesting picture

A Trick Necessary to Continue

E h

The energy absorbed by an excited particle is determined by

the field it is acting against in order to become excited
Electrons: attraction with nucleus
Spinning top: gravity
Protons in NMR: magnetic field
Note that the last one is very easily manipulated

Changing the Rules in Midstream

E h

By changing the strength of the magnetic field (re-writing the

rules of attraction in mid-stream), the protons can be
manipulated on the fly
Increase the field to increase precession speed
Increase the field to increase their resonance frequency
Consider increasing gravity on a spinning top

MRI: Getting Coordinates in Plane

(X)
We need to revisit Lauterburs idea with the trick we just
learned in order to use frequency to map location
Once we get the spins saturated, we can vary B0 over x

B0 still points in the same direction,

but make it stronger on one side of
the patient than the other
This is changing the rules in
midstream: the protons are already
saturated / excited, and now were
altering the field on them
We know from our simple experiments
that the protons exposed to the
weaker field will precess less quickly
Z
X

MRI: Getting Coordinates in Plane

(X)

Protons will spontaneously

revert to the lower energy
state
Protons at x=0 will be relaxing
in a strong field, and give off
high-frequency EMF
Protons at x=1 will be relaxing
in a weak field, and give off
low-frequency EMF

net
magnetization
vector, M

Then we can use the FT to

separate the frequencies and
identify the signal strength at
each x-coordinate

MRI: Getting Coordinates in Plane

All frequencies in the output signal come at once, and is a plot of signal strength per
(X)
unit time

Z
net
magnetization
vector, M
X

Now, the frequency of

the emission tells us the
aggregate signal for
each x-column

MRI: Getting Coordinates in Plane

Tying the x coordinate to the frequency is called frequency encoding
(Y)
It would be nice if we could just do the same thing with the Y direction, but we cant

Since magnetic field vectors add,

putting a second gradient in the y
direction is indistinguishable from
doing a single gradient at an angle
No new information is captured,
and the Fourier Transform cant
distinguish them unless the
frequencies are unique
X

A Transient Gradient Changes the

Phase
If we change the field strength on a magnet that is already
precessing, we can make its precession change speed
If we increase it again, it speeds back up

B0
This is what we mean when we say that two
protons are out of phase

B0

MRI: Getting Coordinates in Plane

(Y)
Instead, we will introduce a gradient in the y direction temporarily
This slows changes the speed for a moment, but then the frequency returns to what it had been
Holding back some spins in this way creates a phase shift in the spins, which we can exploit later

MRI: Getting Coordinates in Plane

(Y)

This technique gives us an extra degree of freedom

The Fourier transform does not know how to process phase information, but it does preserve it
We then do a second Fourier transform in order to obtain the information we want
Lets use an example to understand the 2D Fourier Transform

The 2-D Fourier Transform

Plot A-t

1D FT
by row

FT
by column

The 2-D Fourier Transform

Plot A-t

1D FT
by row

FT
by column

MRI: What we End Up With

We now have a plot of signal as a function of time at each
individual voxel
We know that the signal will decay unequally in different
tissues, so we get signal-vs-position plots at multiple time
points, calculate the rate of decay, and give that pixel a
shade near white if the decay constant is large, and a shade
near black if the decay constant is short
In actuality, the phase-encoding step is done first, because
the magnetic gradient it requires is transient. The frequencyencoding step is done last, because it needs to be active
when the protons relax (the readout gradient)

Energy Accounting 101

It is possible to exhaustively inventory where all of the
energy of the RF pulse goes (1st law of thermodynamics)

Spin alignment (work)

Spin alignment (work)

protons
the everything
universe else
(spins)(as seen by(the
the physicist)
lattice)
heat

MRI: Details of the Excitation

We can choose how much to excite the protons in the plane
A big EMF pulse can knock all the
spins into the x-y plane
An even bigger EMF pulse can knock
all the spins onto the z axis
Z

90 Pulse
Z
initial net
magnetization
vector, M0

180 Pulse

Or anything in between

Measuring the Net Magnetization

Vector
The net magnetization vector can be measured directly by
using orthogonal radio antennas.
SX

SY
X
Z

This will allow the vector within each voxel (which weve just
learned how to identify) to be measured in x and y

MRI: Details of the Decay

If we start with a 180 pulse, the decay is exponential and goes from -1 to 1 (two data points are
known)

net
magnetization
(M=Mz)
Z

180 Pulse

Mz
t

MRI: Details of the Decay

If we perform any pulse except 180 pulse, then all protons will get knocked into x-y plane, and precess there
Initially, they will all be in-phase, because they are all knocked away from Z-axis at the same time in the same direction
With time, they will de-phase due to two factors
Interactions with neighboring protons (random effects)
Imperfect homogeneity of B0 (nonrandom effects)

This is spin-spin relaxation

Z
90 Pulse
net
magnetization
M=Mz

Mxy
t

MRI: Details of the Decay

De-phasing is when the signal is lost because it averages itself out and becomes noise
Here is a visual example of dephasing

out of phase

in phase

There are ways to reverse this process,

and any sequence which does so will
be called an echo sequence
Once the signal is completely
dephased, we have randomness
Even so, a non-zero net vector in the zdirection may still exist

out of phase

Revisiting Energy Accounting

Radiofrequency in

Spin alignment (work)

Sp
in
-

Radiofrequency out
everything else
(the lattice)
Z

Sp
in

re
la
xa
t

Spin alignment (work)

io
n
protons
(spins)

heat
T1 relaxation

T2 relaxation

MRI: Details of the Decay

We have seen two types of recovery toward equilibrium
Mz recovery starts out low and recovers exponentially back toward
one (because z equilbrium is to line back up with B0)
It happens with all pulse strengths
It reflects energy loss to surrounding molecules
Random interactions (changes moment to moment, noise)
Nonrandom interactions (is static for a given molecule, bias)
the rate constant for this
process is called T1

Mz
t

Mxy recovery starts out maximal and exponentially decays toward

zero
It happens with all pulse strengths except 180
It reflects energy loss back to the universe
the rate constant for this
process is called T2

Mxy
t

Energy Accounting 501

Radiofrequency in

Spin alignment (work)

T2*
Radiofrequency
out

random
effects

static
effects

T1 relaxation

heat

T2
relaxation

T2 Effects

Because the static interactions are static, they can be reversed by the 180
degree pulsation
Z

T2*
static
effects

random
effects

T2 relaxation

T2
relaxation

180
Pulse
Z

180
Pulse
Echo

Another Analogy

Anatomy of a Scanner
Four main hardware components
Main magnet
RF system
Magnetic field gradient system
Computer system.

What Weve Covered

Reviewed the most fundamental rules that govern MR
phenomena
Identified how to excite selected photons using
supermagnets and radio waves
Identified how to manipulate the excited photons in order to
encode positional information
Frequency encoding
Phase encoding

Become familiar with 2D Fourier transforms

Future Topics to Explore

Mechanisms of contrast
Proton Density
T1, T2, T2* in more detail
Anisotropy
Flow
Diffusion
Tensor mapping

IV Contrast

Pulse Sequence Diagram Interpretation

Sequence selection, costs and benefits