INTRODUCTION TO MRI

DR TIMA NASSIR
LECTURE 7
LEARNING OBECTIVES

• At the end of this lecture, the student is expected to:

ØDescribe the basics of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
ØDiscuss historical development of NMR as precursor to MRI.
ØDescribe magnetic phenomena – concepts and classification of magnetic
materials.

ØDescribe magnetic properties of the atomic nucleus including magnetic spin,

precession, etc.
INTRODUCTION
—Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR)
ØWas initially introduced as a spectroscopic technique, which
ØWas used by chemists as an analytical tool for determining chemical
properties of molecules.

—However,
ØNMR is now used as one of the latest imaging modality in clinical medicine,
and
ØProduces high quality images mainly of the soft internal organs or tissues of
the human body.
MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING

—Clinical NMR technique,

ØWas, however, renamed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) rather than
nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (NMRI), because
ØOf the negative connotations associated with the word ‘nuclear’ in the late
70's among the public, which

ØWas as a result of the fear created by the devastating effects of the nuclear
weapons and accidents in nuclear power plants (e.g. Chernobyl disaster).
MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING

• MRI
ØStarted as a tomographic imaging technique (like CT or US scanning), hence
ØProduces images from NMR signal emanating from thin slices thro’ the human body
in axial, coronal and sagittal planes, but

ØHas now advanced beyond a tomographic imaging technique to a whole body

(volume or 3D) imaging technique.
UNIQUENESS OF MRI
• MRI
ØIs a unique technique as compared to radiography or nuclear medicine or US
modalities because:
o It does not use ionizing radiation (x- or g rays) but instead uses magnetic field as the
source of energy, and
o Do not rely on energy transmission thro’ tissue like X-ray or US.
ØIt also utilizes an entirely different interaction principle, which
o Involves interaction of atomic nuclei with the applied magnetic field for either
absorption/emission of RF signal used for image formation
UNIQUENESS OF MRI

• MRI
ØIs a complex subject and as such grasping basic principles is critical for proper
understanding of complex aspects of the modality, and
ØIts fundamentals can be tackled in two ways - classical or quantum physics,
but

ØAny discussion requires both and we shall try to integrate them in our
approach.
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF MRI
BRIEF HISTORY OF MR IMAGING

• Felix Bloch (Stanford) and Edward Purcell (Harvard),

ØBoth discovered independently methods of measuring magnetic resonance (MR) in
organic materials in 1946, and

ØBoth of them shared the Nobel Prize in 1952.

• In the period between 1950 and 1970,

Ø NMR was developed and used as a non-destructive laboratory technique for
analyzing chemical and biological molecules in matter.
BRIEF HISTORY OF MR IMAGING
• In 1974 Raymond Damadian,
ØShowed that nuclear magnetic relaxation times of normal tissues and tumors
(malignant tissues) were different, and
ØThis motivated scientists to consider NM imaging for detection of diseases.

• In 1975,
ØRichard Ernst proposed MR Imaging using phase and frequency encoding, and
the Fourier Transform, and
ØHis approach is the basis of the current MRI technique.
BRIEF HISTORY OF MR IMAGING

• In 1977,
ØRaymond Damadian, again, demonstrated a new MR Imaging technique
called field-focusing NMR, and
ØAt the same time, Peter Mansfield developed another MRI technique called
echo-planar imaging (EPI), which

ØWas later improved to produce video images at frame rates of 30 ms/image.

BRIEF HISTORY OF MR IMAGING
• In 1980
ØEdelstein and coworkers demonstrated imaging of the body using Ernst's technique,
which
ØEnabled a single image to be acquired in ~5 minutes.

• By 1986,
ØImaging time was reduced to ~5 seconds, without sacrificing too much image quality,
and
ØAt the same time, NMR microscope was developed, which
ØAllowed ~ 1 µm resolution on ~1cm samples.
BRIEF HISTORY OF MR IMAGING
• In 1987,
ØEPI was used to perform real-time movie imaging of a single cardiac cycle, and

ØIn the same year, Charles Dumoulin was perfecting MR angiography (MRA), which

ØAllowed imaging of blood flow without use of contrast agents.

• In 1991,
ØRichard Ernst was rewarded for his achievements in pulsed Fourier Transform NMRI
with the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
BRIEF HISTORY OF MR IMAGING
• In 1992,
ØThe functional MRI (fMRI) was developed, which
ØAllowed the mapping (imaging) of the function of the various regions of the human
brain, although
ØFive years earlier, many clinicians thought EPI’s primary application was to be in real-
time cardiac imaging, but
ØThe development of fMRI opened up a new application for EPI in mapping the
regions of the brain responsible for thought and motor control
BRIEF HISTORY OF MR IMAGING
• In 1994,
Ø Researchers at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and Princeton University
demonstrated the imaging of hyperpolarized 129Xe gas for respiration studies.

• In 2003,
Ø Paul C. Lauterbur of the University of Illinois and Sir Peter Mansfield of the University of
Nottingham were awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine for their discoveries concerning MR
Imaging.
• MRI is clearly a young, but a growing science.
CLINICAL MR IMAGING

• MRI
ØWas introduced commercially in the early 1980s, and
ØIt employed NMR signals plus spatial information to produce tomographic
sectional images of the human body in the 3-common planes (axial, coronal
and sagittal) and also in any other chosen oblique plane, and

ØConveys information that are entirely different from those of transmission CT

or US scan.
CLINICAL MR IMAGING
• Clinical application of MRI
ØHas continued to increase since its inception in the 1980s, and
ØIs now joining the league of major imaging modalities in medicine and
ØIs overtaking the use of CT scan and projection radiography in soft tissue imaging
because of the following two reasons:
o Has excellent contrast sensitivity to soft tissue difference, and
o Inherently safe to patients because it does not use ionizing radiations, but instead uses
magnetic field.
CLINICAL MR IMAGING

• MRI modality has continued to improve in the following areas:

ØImage quality;
ØImage acquisition methods, and
ØEquipment design.

• Currently,
ØMRI is a modality of choice to examine atomic and physiologic properties of
the patients.
CLINICAL MR IMAGING

• Despite being the modality of choice for soft tissues imaging, MRI
suffers from some limitations also, which include:
ØHigh equipment and sitting costs;
ØScan acquisition complexity;
ØRelatively long imaging time;
ØSignificant image artifacts, and
ØPatient claustrophobia (for nervous patients).
UNITS USED IN MR
• Table below
ØGives the common quantities used in MRI and their SI units:
MAIN COMPONENTS OF A SCANNER
• Major components of MRI scanner regardless of model are:
ØMain magnet (for main magnetic field, Bo);

ØElectromagnets (for gradient magnetic fields (Gx, Gy, Gz));

ØMagnetic shim coil;

ØRadiofrequency (RF) Coil;

ØSubsystem control computer;

ØData transfer and storage computers, and

ØPhysiological monitoring, stimulus display, and behavioral recording hardware.
MAGNETISM
• Magnetism
Ø Is a fundamental property of matter, and

Ø Is generated by moving charges (electrons or protons) but

Ø Magnetism due to a single atom or molecule is normally very weak and undetectable, hence
o It is usually conceptualized as comprising of several atoms/molecules existing together as a
package called a domain, which

o Is the smallest entity or building block of magnetism, and

o A material is magnetized when the domains are aligned.

MAGNETIC DOMINANCE
• However, when external magnetic field is
• In un-magnetized sample,
applied,
Ø Individual domains align themselves in Ø Individual domains line up in the
direction of the external field, and
different directions or randomly, hence
Ø Causes external magnetic field to be
Ø Has no net magnetic field.
enhanced as shown below.
AN ATOM
• An tom consists of:
ØNucleus – which houses protons and neutrons (i.e. nucleons), and
ØOrbits or shells or energy levels – which accommodate electrons.

• The electrons in the orbits can be

ØPaired – even number of electrons hence cancels out net magnetic field (i.e.
magnetic field is zero) or
ØUnpaired – odd number of electrons hence net magnetic field is present (i.e.
magnetic field is not zero).
ATOM

• 3-types of motion take place in

an atom:
ØElectron spinning on their own
axis,

ØElectrons orbiting the nucleus, and

ØNucleus itself spinning about its
own axis.
MAGNETIC MATERIALS

• Materials
ØCan be magnetic or non-magnetic, and
ØThese classification is based on a magnetic property, which
ØIs called Magnetic Susceptibility (denoted by c), and
ØIt gives a measure (extend) of magnetization of a material when it is placed
inside an external magnetic field.
MAGNETIC MATERIAL
— The induced magnetic field in a material can either
ØOppose the external magnetic field, and reduces its strength or even cancels out
completely, or
ØBe in the same direction as the external magnetic field, and hence enhances or
increases its strength.
— Magnetic materials are classified into 3-types:
1. Diamagnetic;
2. Paramagnetic, and
3. Ferromagnetic.
DIAMAGNETIC MATERIALS

—Diamagnetic Materials
ØHave small negative susceptibility (-c), and
ØWhen placed inside a magnetic field induces a field that opposes the applied
field, hence
ØAre not magnetized at all (i.e. not attracted by a magnet), and

ØExamples: Cu, H2O, and most organic compounds (due to large number of
carbons and hydrogen which are diamagnetic).
PARAMAGNETIC MATERIALS

• Paramagnetic Materials:
ØHave small positive susceptibility (+c), hence
ØWill enhance external magnetic field when placed inside, but
ØIts self magnetization is too weak, hence not measurable, and
ØExample: O2, some blood degraded products and Gd contrast agents.
FERROMAGNETIC MATERIALS

• Ferromagnetic Materials:
ØAre also called iron like materials, and
ØAre “super-paramagnetic” materials , because
ØThey aligned with the applied magnetic field strongly, hence
ØExhibit strong ‘self-magnetization’ and
ØAre normally used to make permanent magnets, and
ØExamples: Iron, cobalt and nickel.
MAGNETIC FIELD
• Magnetic field
Ø Is derived from monopole electric
charges, but
Ø It exists as a ‘dipole’, with
Ø Two poles called the North (N) pole and
South (S) pole, where
o Magnetic field lines originate from the
N-pole of a magnet and
o Return to the magnet through the S-
pole as shown in the figure beside.
MAGNETIC FIELD
— Magnets
Ø Exert forces on each other, like electric
charges, such that:
o Like poles repel and
o Unlike poles attract.

— Note that
Ø Magnetic poles cannot exist as a single
pole even if the magnet is divided up to
the atomic level.
MAGNETIC FIELD

• The magnetic field strength:

ØIs denoted by and is a vector quantity (has direction and magnitude), and
ØIt is also called magnetic flux density, and
ØCan be conceptualized as number of magnetic lines of force per unit ^ area,
and

ØIt reduces as the square of distance from the magnet.

MAGNETIC FIELD

• The magnetic field:

ØHas SI Unit called the Tesla (T), and
ØTraditional unit called Gauss (G), where
Ø1 T = 10 000 G.

• The Earth
ØIs a huge magnet and its value is ~1/20 000 T (50 µT), and
ØThis value is usually used as a reference for comparison.
MAGNETIC FIELD

• The Earth
ØIs revolving around the sun on its
orbit once in a year, and
ØIt is also spinning continuously
about its own axis once in a day as
shown in the lower Fig.
PRODUCTION OF MAGNETS
• Magnets are of two types:
ØPermanent magnets
o Are made from ferromagnetic materials and are usually used for producing the main
magnetic field, Bo in old MRI equipment.

ØElectromagnets
o Are made from coiled wires and produce magnetic field when electric currents flows through
the wire, and
o Is used in gradient coils to produce additional B-fields in x-, y- and z axes of pt. for locating
exact position where the signal is emanating from.
ELECTROMAGNETS

• Fig.
ØShows a current carrying wire, which
ØProduces magnetic field around it in
form of concentric circles as shown
whenever the current is flowing, and

ØIts strength decreases with distance

from the wire.
ELECTROMAGNETS

• However,
ØMagnetic field strength produced by a
single wire is weak and is usually
augmented by making it into a coil as
shown in top figure, and

ØIn addition, increasing the current,

number of turns in the coil or using a
solenoid with iron core (lower Fig.).
ELECTROMAGNETS USED IN MRI SCANNER

• Magnetic field used in MRI

scanners
ØAre produced by an “air-core”
solenoid, and

ØThey have B-field between 0.3 to

3.0 T, but
ØModern MRI systems use 1.5 T.
MICROSCOPIC PROPERTIES RESPONSIBLE FOR
MRI
• The composition of human body:
ØIs primarily fat and water, and
ØBoth of them have many hydrogen atoms, which
ØActually constitute ~63% of human body, and
ØIs what produces signals used in image production of internal tissues in MR
Imaging of the patients.
MICROSCOPIC PROPERTIES RESPONSIBLE FOR
MRI
• Each voxel of an image of a section of the body:
ØContains one or more different tissues, and

ØA voxel with one tissue inside has many cells, where

ØOne cell in turn has many water molecules, and

ØEach water molecule has one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms, and
ØA hydrogen atom has a nucleus comprising of a single proton, and its nucleus is
usually referred as a proton in MRI, and
ØSince it is positively charged, it responds to an applied B-field.
MAGNETIC PROPERTIES OF THENUCLEUS

• The nucleus of an atom

ØHouses protons and neutrons and
ØTheir properties are summarized in the Table below.
MAGNETIC PROPERTIES OF NUCLEUS
• A proton
ØHas a unit positive charge and

ØLike the earth, is constantly rotating around its own axis, hence

ØIt constitute an electric current, which

ØIn turn produces a magnetic field, and

ØHence, a proton can be visualized as a little magnet as shown in this Fig.

MAGNETIC PROPERTIES OF THE NUCLEUS

• Fig.
ØShows a spinning proton about its
own axis using the earth analogy,
and
ØUnlike a bar magnet, the proton
“magnet” is represented by the
yellow arrow called a ‘spin’.
MAGNETIC PROPERTIES OF THE NUCLEUS

• A neutron,
ØHas no electrical charge or has a zero charge, but
ØDespite this fact, the charge inhomogeneities at the sub-nuclear scale result
in magnetic field of a neutron of almost equal strength to that of a proton but
in opposite direction, or

ØIn other words, a neutron possesses the magnetic spin just like the proton.
WHAT IS A SPIN?

• A spin
ØIs a fundamental property of nature for elementary particles just like
electrical charge or mass, and
ØIt comes in multiples of ½ and can be + or -, and
ØIs possessed by a proton, electron, and neutron, and

ØWhen any of them is unpaired, it possesses a spin of ½ or -½ and when pair

possesses a spin of 0 or 1.
MAGNETIC SPIN

• Note that
ØTwo or any even number of particles with opposite spins can pair up and
cancel the spins from being observed, and
ØHence, in MRI, important nuclear spins are the unpaired ones.

• A spin
ØIs an important concept in quantum mechanics (QM), and
o QM is a 20th century physics dealing with very small matter but moving very fast.
MAGNETIC SPIN
• The proton or hydrogen nucleus
has two spin states, and
1. Act like miniature tops (top Fig.) and
“precess” about external B-field
(bottom Fig.) and
2. Inside main magnetic field of MRI, Bo
the spins act like tiny dipole magnets
that align with- or against the field
as shown in the Fig. in next slide.
SPIN AND ENERGY STATES