MRI - Basic Physics

Dr. Ulas Bagci

Center for Research in Computer Vision (CRCV), University of
Central Florida (UCF), Orlando, FL.
bagci@ucf.edu

May 2016
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Looking Inside the Body (c. 1632)

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Looking Inside the Body (c. 2016)

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Brief History of MRI

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 Nobel Prizes for MRI
• 1944: Rabi
Physics (Measured magnetic moment of nucleus)

• 1952: Felix Bloch and Edward Mills Purcell

Physics (Basic science of NMR phenomenon)

• 1991: Richard Ernst

Chemistry (High-resolution pulsed FT-NMR)

• 2002: Kurt Wüthrich

Chemistry (3D molecular structure in solution by NMR)

• 2003: Paul Lauterbur & Peter Mansfield

Physiology or Medicine (MRI technology)
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How MRI Works (in 60 seconds)

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MRI Hardware Setup

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The Magnet

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 Recipe for MR Imaging
• 1) Put subject in big magnetic field (leave
him/her 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
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MRI Hardware Setup - Details

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MRI Hardware Setup - Details

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 MRI measures the movement of H atoms
• Hydrogen is abundant in the water molecules in human tissue.
• The nuclei of Hydrogen can act like a “compass needle” in a
magnetic field.
• Some types of tissues prevent hydrogen from spinning as freely.
For example, bone is more restrictive to movement than fat.
– These differences can be detected to distinguish tissue type.

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 B
protons

Earth’s
Field
N

W E compass
S
Wald, fMRI MR
Physics
 Compass needles
Earth’s Main
υ Field z Field
North
Bo
N

W E
y

x
Freq = γ B 42.58 MHz/T
Wald, fMRI MR
Physics
 Gyroscopic motion

Main z North
Field • Proton has magnetic moment
Bo • Proton has spin (angular momentum)
M
>>gyroscopic precession

x υ = γ Bo
Larmor precession freq. = 42.58 MHz/T
Wald, fMRI MR
Physics
 EXCITATION : Displacing the spins
from Equilibrium (North)

Problem: It must be moving for us to detect it.

Solution: knock out of equilibrium so it oscillates

How? 1) Tilt the magnet or compass suddenly

2) Drive the magnetization (compass needle)

with a periodic magnetic field

Wald, fMRI MR
Physics
Summary of MRI Physics in one slide!

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Fundamental Three Steps in MR

0) Equilibrium (magnetization points along Bo)

1) RF Excitation (tip magn. away from equil.)

2) Precession induces signal,

dephasing (timescale = T2, T2*).

3) Return to equilibrium (timescale = T1).

Wald, fMRI MR
Physics
MRI Hardware Setup - Details

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 Basic Physics of MRI
• Nuclei line up with magnetic moments either in a parallel or anti-parallel configuration.
• In body tissues more line up in parallel creating a small additional magnetization M in
the direction of B0.

Nuclei spin axis not Nuclear magnetic

parallel to B0 field moments precess
direction. about B0.
 Basic Physics of MRI
• Frequency of precession of magnetic moments given by Larmor relationship

f = γ x B0

f = Larmor frequency (mHz)

γ = Gyromagnetic ratio (mHz/Tesla)
B0 = Magnetic field strength (Tesla)

γ ~ 43 mHz/Tesla

Larmor frequencies of RICs MRIs

3T ~ 130 mHZ
7T ~ 300 mHz
11.7T ~ 500 mHz
Energy Differences

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 Basic Physics of MRI
NMRable Nuclei

§ Body 1H content is high due to water (>67%)

§ Hydrogen protons in mobile water are primary
source of signals in fMRI and aMRI
 What happens in a scan?
Magnetic fields and resonance

• Magnetism B
◆ We exert a couple on the nuclear spin by placing a
magnetic field across the sample. m

◆ If the particle were not spinning, it would align like a

compass, but, because of the spin, it precesses instead.

Precession
• Resonance Spin

◆ An electromagnetic field that oscillates at exactly the

same frequency as the nucleus will be absorbed.

◆ Under certain conditions, the nucleus will also emit a

quantum of RF energy
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 Image contrast summary: TR, TE

Long Proton
Density T2

TR
Short
T1 poor!

Short Long
Wald, fMRI MR TE
Physics
 Sources
• Must watch lecture (basic):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWRIKNeCXjI
• http://www.medicine.uodiyala.edu.iq/uploads/lectures/phy
sics/MRI_Physics.pdf
• MRI Made Easy (free, easy book):
http://www.stat.columbia.edu/~martin/Tools/MRI_Made_
Easy.pdf

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