MAGNETIC

RESONANCE
IMAGING

BY..
G.BERVIN
 What is MRI?

 It is a method of looking inside the body without

using surgery, harmful dyes or x-rays.
 It uses magnetism and radio waves to produce
remarkably clear pictures of the human
anatomy.
 The most advanced method of diagnostic
imaging available in the world today.
 It provides a great deal of information about
your condition.
CT & MRI…
Complicated…? No…

80% water
How MR works…
Patient + Magnet
The Magnet

Permanent and Supercon Magnets

Magnetic Field Lines
Summarizing…
 What is the difference
between T1 and T2?
 Tissue in the human body has its own T1 and
T2 value.

 For example, white matter in the brain will

exhibit different T1 and T2 values than that of
blood.

 In magnetic resonance imaging, the emitted

radio signal from a particular tissue depends on
combination of that tissue's T1 and T2 values.
T1 & T2 images

T1 T2
Are MRI scanners
dangerous?
 For those people whose anatomy contains one or more of the
following items, MRI could cause serious injury or death. if
you have any metal in your body which cannot be removed,
including:
 Pacemakers
 Implanted insulin pumps
 Aneurysm clips
 Vascular coils and filters
 Heart valves
 Ear implants
 Surgical staples and wires
 Shrapnel
 Bone or joint replacements
 Metal plates, rods, pins or screws
 Contraceptive diaphragms or coils
 Penile implants
 Permanent dentures
WARNING!!!

DO NOT ALLOW YOURSELF TO BE

SCANNED IF YOU HAVE A PACEMAKER OR
OTHER IMPLANTED MECHANICALLY,
ELECTRICALLY OR
MAGNETICALLY ACTIVATED DEVICE.
UNLESS SPECIFICALLY ORDERED BY THE
RADIOLOGIST,
YOU WILL NOT BE SCANNED IF YOU HAVE
METAL IMPLANTS IN THE HEAD REGION.
REGION
Why are MRIs so noisy?

 Not all MRIs are noisy

Some are because of vibrating gradients,

the adjunctive, non-uniform magnetic
fields that enable the scanner to collect
data from a particular cross-sectional
plane.
Why do MRI scans take so
long?
 Fortunately, the time required for a scan is
becoming shorter and shorter.
 The world's very first whole-body scan in Dr.
Damadian's prototype machine took an
exhausting four hours and 45 minutes.
 Most scans are now over in about 20 minutes,
although it sometimes takes longer depending
upon the anatomy or condition for which the
patient is being scanned.
How do I prepare for an MRI
 Very easy.
 All removable metallic objects must be left outside the
scanning room, including removable hearing aids,
dentures and other prosthetic devices.
 Credit cards cannot be brought into the scanner room
since the magnetic codes on them can be affected by the
magnet.
 For optimal image quality when performing head scans,
all makeup must be removed since it may contain
metallic powders which are magnetic and thus degrade
image quality.
 You may be asked to wear a hospital gown, since clothes
may have metallic fasteners or metallic fibers that can
interfere with the imaging
 PROS OF MRI
 Test is painless.
 No radiation or harmful side effects.
 Noninvasive method of viewing the insides of the
body.
 Can provide images from multiple viewpoints and is
effective at differentiating between various soft
tissues .
 Provides images of organs that otherwise would be
obscured by bones or foreign bodies .
 Can be helpful even in injecting steroids into the
body.
 Treatment of diseases like non-pulmonary
tuberclosis.
 CONS OF MRI
 May be uncomfortable for people who don't like
confined spaces or have claustrophobia.
 Since the Magnet is always ON it can't be used on
people with some implanted metal objects, such as
pacemakers.
 Expensive tests — more expensive than X-rays or CT
scans.
 Test can be time-consuming
 Test can be affected by body movement
 Can result to serious hazards even if a small metal is
present with the patient during test.
APPLICATIONS

Adapted from:http://www.fmrib.ox.ac.uk/physics
 OTHER SPECIALISED MRI
SCANS
 Functional MRI.
 MR Angiography.
 Diffusion MRI.
FUTURE OF MRI________________________________
1.Very small scanners for imaging specific
body parts are being developed
2.Cardiac Implants through MRI
 CONCLUSION
 Thus the technology involved in MRI can be
concluded as a combination of Spin Physics and
Image Processing.
 It provides details about every organ in the human
body including flowing liquids like blood and
images in any direction.
 An easy,fast and accurate diagnostic tool.
 A powerful imaging tecnique for its high resolution
capability and chemical specific imaging.
 MRI is clearly a young but growing science.
 Recipe for MRI
1) Put subject in big magnetic field (leave him there)
2) Transmit radio waves into subject [about 3 ms]
3) Turn off radio wave transmitter
4) Receive radio waves re-transmitted by subject
– Manipulate re-transmission with magnetic fields during this readout
interval [10-100 ms: MRI is not a snapshot]
5) Store measured radio wave data vs. time
– Now go back to 2) to get some more data
6) Process raw data to reconstruct images
7) Allow subject to leave scanner (this is optional)

Source: Robert Cox’s web slides

 History of NMR
NMR = nuclear magnetic resonance
Felix Block and Edward Purcell
1946: atomic nuclei absorb and re-
emit radio frequency energy
1952: Nobel prize in physics
nuclear: properties of nuclei of atoms
magnetic: magnetic field required
resonance: interaction between magnetic
field and radio frequency
Bloch Purcell
NMR  MRI: Why the name change?

most likely explanation: less likely but more amusing explanation:

nuclear has bad connotations subjects got nervous when fast-talking doctors suggested an NMR
 Necessary Equipment
4T magnet

RF Coil
gradient coil
(inside)

Magnet Gradient Coil RF Coil

Source: Joe Gati, photos

 The Big Magnet
Very strong
1 Tesla (T) = 10,000 Gauss
Earth’s magnetic field = 0.5 Gauss
4 Tesla = 4 x 10,000  0.5 = 80,000X Earth’s magnetic field
Continuously on
Main field = B0
Robarts Research Institute 4T

x 80,000 = B0

Source: www.spacedaily.com
 Magnet Safety
The whopping strength of the magnet makes safety essential.
Things fly – Even big things!

Source: www.howstuffworks.com Source: http://www.simplyphysics.com/

flying_objects.html

Screen subjects carefully

Make sure you and all subjects & staff are aware of hazards
Develop strategies for screening yourself every time you enter the magnet

Do the metal Macarena!

 Subject Safety
Anyone going near the magnet – subjects, staff and visitors – must be
thoroughly screened:

Subjects must have no metal in their bodies:

• pacemaker
• aneurysm clips
• metal implants (e.g., cochlear implants)
• intrauterine devices (IUDs)
• some dental work (fillings okay)

Subjects must remove metal from their bodies This subject was wearing a hair band with a ~2 mm
copper clamp. Left: with hair band. Right: without.
• jewelry, watch, piercing Source: Jorge Jovicich
• coins, etc.
• wallet
• any metal that may distort the field (e.g., underwire bra)

Subjects must be given ear plugs (acoustic noise can reach 120 dB)
3D Rendering
More 3D Rendering
Review
Magnetic field

Tissue protons align

with magnetic field
(equilibrium state)
RF pulses

Protons absorb
Relaxation Spatial encoding
RF energy
processes using magnetic
(excited state)
field gradients
Relaxation
processes

Protons emit RF energy

(return to equilibrium state)

NMR signal
detection

Repeat

RAW DATA MATRIX

Fourier transform

IMAGE Source: Jorge Jovicich