MRI-Faculty.ppt

Equipment Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan requires the use of a very strong magnetic field. Unlike other devices used in radiology, MR imaging uses no radiation. The magnet is contained in the housing of the scanner and this creates a magnetic field oriented down the center of the magnet. The patient is placed within the magnetic field by lying on a table which is placed through the center of the opening of the magnet, similar to lying on a road running through a tunnel. The strength of the magnetic field is measured in units called gauss or Tesla: 10,000 gauss equals 1 Tesla. The earths magnetic field is approximately 0.6 gauss. The strongest magnetic field permitted in MRI scanning of humans is 1.5 Tesla (1.5T). Three types of magnets are available for use in MRI. Most MRI scanners in use today are superconductng magnets. Resistive magnets are electromagnets, similar to superconducting magnets, but they are air cooled therefore have greater resistance to current and create weaker magnetic fields. Permanent magnets are made of solid magnetic material, similar to bar magnets, and create the weakest magnetic fields. However, they can be arranged in a configuration that doesnt require the patient to be surrounded by the magnet and are used in Open MR scanners. The strongest is a superconducting magnet. This is a type of electromagnet in which current flowing in a circular direction in a coil of wire creates a magnetic field oriented down the core of the coil. In superconducting magnets, the wire conducts the current without significant resistance because it is cooled to a temperature close to absolute zero by being bathed in a jacket of liquid helium and/or liquid nitrogen. The picture shows the actual magnet (the outer container resembles a thermos and contains the superconducting wire surrounded by liquid helium). Creating an Image The physics of MRI are extremely complex. When a patient is placed within and MR scanner, the protons in the pat