Basic principles of
MRI
Dr. Lysyy Oleg
Assaf Harofeh Medical
Center
Imaging department
What is MRI?
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is
an
imaging technique used to produce
images
of the inside of the human body and
based
on the principles of nuclear magnetic
resonance (NMR) – absorption and
emission of energy in the radio
frequency
History
1946- Felix Bloch
(Stanford) & Edward
Purcell (Harvard)
discovered nuclear
magnetic resonance-
Nobel Prize in 1952
History
1971- Raymond Damadian shows
tumors appear different than
normal
tissue (in vitro)
1975 - Ernst suggests frequency
& phase gradients and Fourier
transform
History
1973-Lauterburg-
imaging of a
mouse
(in vivo)
History
July 3,1977
Dr.Raymond
Damadian –
first human imaging
5 hours
History
History
How does it work?
Put subject in big magnetic field
Transmit radio waves into the
subject
Turn off radio wave transmitter
Receive radio waves re-
transmitted by the subject
Convert measured RF data to
image
1. Put subject in big
magnetic field
Magnet
The imaging
magnet
is the most
expencive
part of the system.
Most magnets are
of
the superconduction
type
Magnetic Intensity
The magnets in use today in MRI are
in the 0.5-tesla to 3.0-tesla range(
5,000 to 30,000 gauss).
Magnetic fields greater than 3 tesla
have not been approved for use in
medical imaging.
More powerful magnets - up to 60
tesla are used in research.
Earth's magnetic field is 0.5-gauss
Spin Physics
Spin is a fundamental property of
nature like electrical charge or
mass.
A moving electric charge,be it
positive or negative,produces a
magnetic field
The faster it move or the larger
the charge,the larger the
magnetic field it produces
Hydrogen
In nuclear magnetic resonance, it
is unpaired nuclear spins that are
of importance – 1H, 13C, 19F, 23Na
Biological abundance of 1H is 63%
Produces small but noticeable
magnetic field
The biggest sources of protons in
the body are water and fat
Spin Physics
In the absence of an
external magnetic
field,
nuclear spins are
randomized
Spin Physics
When an external
magnetic field is
applied, the
nuclear
magnets line up
parallel (low
energy)
or antiparallel
(high
Spin Physics
Anti-parallel & parallel protons can
cancel each other
There are more parallel protons on
the low energy level
When we put the patient in the
external magnetic field he has his
own magnetic field
Precession
Protons do not just lay in the external
magnetic
field but precess around the magnetic field
lines
Larmor equation
ν= γ B0
ν is precession frequency
B
0 is the strength of the ext. mag.
Field
γ is gyromagnetic ratio.
For 1H, γ =42.58 Mhz/T
2. Transmit radio
waves into the subject
A brief RF signal ,whose frequency
equals the frequency of wobble of
certain protons ν ,knocks those
protons
out from low to high energy level
Lower
Higher
What happens?
Some protons pick up energy and
thus decrease the amount of
longitudinal magnetization and
produces a new transversal
magnetization
The protons get in synch, start
precess in phase
What happens?
3. Turn off radio wave
transmitter
When RF signal ceases,photons
snap
back to low energy level ,emitting a
RF
signal of their own, that announces
the
presence of a specific tissue
What happens?
4. Receive radio waves
from the subject
Need a receive coil tuned to the
same
RF frequency as the exciter coil
5. Convert measured
RF data to image
Fourier transform is
operation which
converts
function from time to
frequency domains
T1 relaxation – flipped
nuclei realign with the
magnetic field
T2 - Transverse
relaxation due to spin
dephasing
T1 and T2 are constant
and specific for every
tissue
Tissue T1(ms) T2(ms)
Grey matter 950 100
White matter 600 80
Muscle 900 50
CSF 4500 2500
Fat 250 60
Blood 1200 100-200
These relaxation time differences
use to generate image contrast
T1 Weighting Image
Contrast is predominantly dependent
T2 Weighting Image
Contrast is predominantly dependent
Imaging Sequences
Generate tissue contrast
Minimize artifacts
Gradient Echo
Spin Echo
Fast Spin Echo
Inversion Recovery
An example
MR signal intensities
T2WI PD/FLAI T1WI
R
Solid mass bright bright dark
Cyst bright dark dark
Subacute bright bright bright
blood
Acute & dark dark gray
chronic blood
Fat dark bright bright
MRI of the Brain -
Sagittal
T1 Contrast T2 Contrast Proton Density
TE = 14 ms TE = 100 ms TE = 14 ms
TR = 400 ms TR = 1500 ms TR = 1500 ms
Contrast Agents
Contrast agents are chemical
substances
introduced to the anatomical or
functional
region being imaged, to increase the
differences between different tissues
or
between normal and abnormal tissue,
by
Contrast Agents
Gadolinium cause a reduction in the
T1
relaxation time-increased
time signal
intensity
on T1WI (appearing bright)
Brain Tumor
T1 T2
Gd T1
Indications
CNS :
- demyelination disease
-CVA
-primary brain tumors
Spine:
-demyelination disease
-discopathy
-cord tumors
Indications
Orthopedic:
-ligaments & meniscuses
evaluation
-soft tissue & bone tumors
Body MRI:
-confirmation of uncertain
diagnoses
-extension of tumors
Absolute
Contraindications
Cardiac pacemakers
Ferromagnetic or electronically
operated stapedial implants
Hemostatic clips (CNS)
Metallic splinters in the orbit
Relative
contraindications
Insulin pumps and nerve stimulators
Lead wires or similar wires
Non-ferromagnetic stapedial implants
Cochlear implants
Prosthetic heart valves (in high fields,
if dehiscence is suspected)
Makeup and tattoos
Claustrophobia
Pregnancy
Possible hazards
Static magnetic fields
Varying magnetic fields (gradient
fields)
Radiofrequency fields
Noise
Pregnancy
MR scanning should be avoided in the
first three months of pregnancy.
MR imaging is indicated for use in
pregnant
women if other nonionizing forms of
diagnostic imaging are inadequate, or if
the
examination provides important
information
which would otherwise require exposure
Diffusion Weighted
MRI
The process by which molecules or
other particles intermingle and
migrate due to their random
thermal motion
Most sensitive procedure to detect
cerebral ischemia (cytotoxic
edema)
The diffusion coefficient of brain
decreases within minutes of onset
Diffusion Weighted
MRI
Ischemic diffusional changes occur
much
earlier- within minutes Vs standard MR
sequences within 3 hours
Perfusion-weighted
imaging
Perfusion-weighted imaging (PWI)
is used to identify regions that are
receiving enough blood supply to
remain structurally intact, but not
enough to function normally.
The measurement of blood flow
via MRI after injection of
gadolinium contrast
Perfusion-weighted
imaging
The infarct area will show little or no
perfusion at
the core or central zone, and the penumbra
will
show decreased perfusion
Functional MR Imaging
Detection of changes in cerebral
blood oxygenation using gradient
echo MR images, an effect
termed “blood oxygen level
dependent” (BOLD)
These changes are secondary to
neuronal activation and are linked
to a local increase in cerebral
blood flow
Functional MR Imaging
Current benefit to clinical practice in
the pre-
surgical identification of the primary
motor
cortex and
language
cortex
MR Spectroscopy
Metabolites in extremely small
concentrations (parts per million) are
measured after suppressing water
and fat signals from a small tissue
volume
Important metabolites studied are N-
Acetylaspartate (NAA), creatine (Cr)
and phosphocreatine, choline (Cho).
MR Spectroscopy
Diagnosis of tumors: Choline levels
are increased and NAA levels are
decreased in tumors
Diagnosis of stroke: The
measurement of N-acetylaspartate
(NAA) signals directly correlate
with neuronal loss secondary to
ischemia
MR Spectroscopy
Normal
Tumor
Necrotic tumor
MRA
MRA
Detailed images of blood vessels and
blood flow
No risk of damaging an artery
The procedure itself and the time
needed to recover are shorter
MRA is less costly than catheter
angiography
No exposure to X-rays
Useful for patients prone to allergic
reactions
MRI
Advantages /
Limitations
No exposure to More expensive than
ionizing radiation CT
Three dimensional Long examination
viewing time
High contrast Sensitivity to motion
imaging Bones are not
No known side visualized
effects Very confined space:
claustrophobia
Not be used by
Thank you
