Magnetic Resonance Imaging

(MRI)
 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
 NMRI  MRI
• Magnetic resonance imaging is a development
of Nuclear magnetic resonance.
• Originally, the technique was referred to as
nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (NMRI).
• However, because the word nuclear was
associated in the public mind with ionizing
radiation exposure, it is generally now
referred to simply as MRI.
• Scientists still use the term NMRI when
discussing non-medical devices operating on
the same principles.
 Synopsis of MRI

1. Put subject in big magnetic field

2. Transmit radio waves into subject [2~10 ms]
3. Turn off radio wave transmitter
4. Receive radio waves re-transmitted by
subject0
5. Convert measured RF (Radio Frequency)
data to image
 Necessary Equipment
4T magnet

RF Coil
gradient coil
(inside)

Magnet Gradient Coil RF Coil

Source: Joe Gati, photos

 Gradient coil
• These are used to systematically vary the
magnetic field by producing additional
linear electromagnetic fields, thus making
slice selection and spatial information
possible.
• Meaning of spatial: pertaining to or
involving or having the nature of space.
What happens when we put a
patient into the magnet of an
MR machine?
 Explanation
• Let's begin with a pictorial introduction
to some basic MRI.
• Magnetic resonance started out as a
tomographic imaging modality for
producing NMR images of a slice
through the human body.
• Each slice had a thickness (Thk).
• This form of imaging
is in some respects
equivalent to cutting
off the anatomy
above the slice

• and below the slice.

• The slice is said to be
composed of several
volume elements or
voxels.

• The volume of a voxel

is approximately 3
mm3. The magnetic
resonance image is
composed of several
picture elements called
pixels.
• The human body is primarily fat and
water.
• Fat and water have many hydrogen
atoms which make the human body
approximately 63% hydrogen atoms.
• Hydrogen nuclei have an NMR signal.
For these reasons magnetic resonance
imaging primarily images the NMR
signal from the hydrogen nuclei.
• Each voxel of an image
of the human body
contains one or more
tissues.
• For example here is a
voxel with one tissue
inside.

• Zooming in on the voxel

reveals cells.
• Within each cell there
are water molecules.

• Here are some of the

water molecules.
• Each water molecule
has one oxygen and
two hydrogen atoms.

• If we zoom into one

of the hydrogen.
• If we zoom into one of the hydrogen we
see a nucleus comprised of a single
proton. The proton possesses a
property called spin which:
1. can be thought of as a small magnetic
field, and
2. will cause the nucleus to produce an
NMR signal.
• the Atom consist of a nucleus and a shell
which is made up of electrons.
• In the nucleus protons (these are little
particles having a positive electrical charge)
are present.
• Protons are constantly turning or spinning
around an axis.
• It means that protons possess a spin. The
positive electrical charge, being attached to
the proton, naturally spins around it.
• And what is a moving electrical charge? It is
an electrical current.
• An electrical current induces, causes a
magnetic force, or magnetic field
• so, where there is an electrical current, there
is also a magnetic field.
So, the proton has its own magnetic
field and it can be seen as a little bar
magnet.
What happen to the proton
when we put them into an
external magnetic field?
• a moving electric charge, be it positive
or negative, produces a magnetic field.
• The faster it moves or the larger the
charge, the larger the magnetic field it
produces.
• Some of the basic properties of a
simple proton include mass, a positive
electric charge and spin
 They Align With An
External Magnetic Field
(Bø)
• Just as a compass aligns with the
earth's magnetic field, a spinning
proton placed near (or within) a large
external magnetic field (called Bø) will
align with the external field.
• Unfortunately, it is not quite so simple.
At the atomic level, some of the
protons align with the field and some
actually align against the field
cancelling each other out.
• A slight excess will align with the field
so that the net result is an alignment
with the external field..
 Why the protons align both with
and against the external
magnetic field
• Both alignments are possible, but the one with
the field is a lower energy state.
• The protons are continually oscillating back
and forth between the two states but at any
given instant, and with a large enough
sample, there will be a very slight majority
aligned with the field.
• The larger the external Bø field, the greater
the difference in energy levels and the larger
the excess number aligned with the field.
 Precession
• The protons just not lay there, aligned
parallel or anti-parallel to the magnetic field
lines.
• Instead, they move around in a certain way.
• The type of movement is called
“Precession.”

A hydrogen atom precesses about a magnetic field.

•During this precession, the axis of spinning top circles forming a cone.

A top that is spinning slightly off the vertical axis is

precessing about the vertical axis.
 How fast the protons Precess?
• This speed can be measured as Precession
frequency, that is, how many times the protons
precess per second.
• This precession frequency is not constant.
• It depends upon the strength of the magnetic
field in which the protons are placed
• The stronger the magnetic field the faster the
precession rate and higher the precession
frequency.
 Derivation of precession
frequency
•It is possible and necessary to precisely calculate this
frequency.
•This is done by using an equation called Larmor equation:

 o = Bo
 o is the precession frequency
Bo is the strength of the external magnetic field
ɣ is the gyro-magnetic ratio
This says that the precession frequency is the
SAME as the larmor frequency
 O = Bo

• This equation states that the precession frequency

becomes higher when the magnetic field strength
increases.
•The exact relationship is determined by the gyro-
magnetic ratio .
•This gyro-magnetic ratio is different for different
materials.
•e.g the value for protons is 42.5 MHz/T.
•It can be compared to an exchange rate, which is
different for different currencies.
 Introducing the coordinate system
• In the coordinate system we consider the
protons as vectors as little arrows.
• A vector represents a certain force (by its size)
that acts in a certain direction (direction of the
arrows).
• The force that is represented in our
illustrations, is the magnetic force.
 Using a coordinate system
Z makes the description of
proton motion in the magnetic
field easier, and also we can
stop drawing the external
magnet.

X
 Z

X
A’

a
• In the figure, 9 protons pointing up, and 5
protons pointing down
• The five protons which “point” down cancel
out the magnetic effects of the same number of
protons, which “point” up.
 Z

So, in effect it is sufficient to only look at

the four unopposed protons.
• The protons (pointing up and down)
cancel each others forces out.
• But as there are more “pointing up”
protons, so some protons are left (the
magnetic forces of which are not
cancelled).
• All of these protons pointing, add up
their forces in the direction of the
external magnetic field.
 Z

B’

A A’
B

X
• The magnetic force of proton A,
illustrated as an arrow, a vector, can be
looked at as resulting from two
components:
• One pointing up along the z-axis,
• and one in the direction of y-axis.
• The component along the y-axis is
cancelled out by proton A’, the
magnetic force of which also has a
component along the y-axis, however
in the opposite direction.
• The same holds true for other protons ,
e.g B and B’, which cancel their
respective magnetic vectors along the
x-axis.
• In contrast to the magnetic vectors in
the x, y plane, which cancel each other
out, the vectors along the z-axis point
in the same direction, and thus add up
to a new magnetic sum vector pointing
up.
• So, when we put the patient in the MR
magnet, he has his own magnetic field,
which is longitudinal to the external
field of the MR machine’s magnet.
 What happens after we put
the patient into the magnet?
What happens after we put the
patient into the magnet?
• Send a radio wave
• The radio wave is used to describe an
electromagnetic wave, that is in the
frequency range of the waves which
you receive in your radio.
• The wave which is send to the patient
is not a wave of long duration, but a
short burst of some electromagnetic
wave, which is called radio frequency
(RF) pulse.
Purpose of radio frequency pulse
• The purpose of radio frequency pulse
is to disturb the protons, which are
peacefully precessing in alignment with
the external magnetic field.
• Not every frequency pulse disturb the
alignment of the protons.
• For this, we need a special RF pulse,
one that can exchange energy with the
protons.
 Resonance
• Only when the RF pulse and the protons
have the same frequency, can protons
pick up some energy from the radio wave,
a phenomenon called “Resonance”.
• This is the point where the “resonance” in
magnetic resonance comes from.
 Z

RF pulse

1
 Sending in an RF pulse that has the
same frequency as the precession
frequency of the protons causes two
effects:
• Some protons pick up energy and
decrease the amount of longitudinal
magnetization.
• The protons get in synch, start to
precess in phase.
 Z

RF pulse

1
 Z

b
 Z

c
• Their vector are also add up in the
direction transverse to the external
magnetic field, and thus a transversal
magnetization is established.
• In summary: the RF pulse causes
longitudinal magnetization to decrease,
and establishes a new transversal
magnetization.