MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING

The Hardware
The basic design of a Magnetic Resonance Imaging scanner is the same in
almost all machines. The scanner consists of a 24 inch wide tube, inside which
the examination takes place. It also contains a magnet, a Radio Frequency (RF)
coil, Gradient coils, patient table, and a computer system.
 Magnet Types

The static magnetic field (Bo) in MRI systems can be created by:
Permanent magnets and Electromagnets.

Magnet
The magnet is the most important and biggest
part of the MRI device. It is this magnet that
allows the MRI machine to produce high quality
images. There is a horizontal tube that runs
through the magnet and is called a bore. The
magnet is extremely powerful and its strength is
measured in either ‟Tesla or ‟Gaussˮ (1 tesla =
10 000 gauss).
Permanent Magnets
A permanent magnet that originates from permanently ferromagnetic
materials, which does not lose the magnet field, that remains over
time without weakening.

A permanent magnet is made from steel. As steel has more

retentivity than iron, it does not lose its magnetism easily.

A steel bar is placed inside a solenoid AB as

shown in the figure and the current is
switched on and off with help of key K. On
removing and testing the bar, it is found to
be magnetised.
Certain alloys possess ferromagnetic
properties. A magnet built of such ma­te­ri­
als has the advantage of needing no power
to main­tain the field strength. It needs no
cooling because there is no power dissipa­
tion and it has a small fringe (stray) field
when compared to the other mag­net
systems. Capital and ope­ra­tio­nal costs of
permanent magnets are low.
Due to weight considerations, these types of magnets are usually limited
to maximum field strengths of 0.4 T (the unit for magnetic field strength
is Tesla: 1 Tesla = 10000 Gauss). Permanent magnets have usually an
open design system which has ample open space which is more
comfortable for the patient
 Electromagnets
There are two categories can be used in MR scanner: Resistive and
Superconducting Magnets

Resistive Magnets

Resistive magnets are made from loops of wire

wrapped around a cylinder through which a
large electric current is passed. These magnets
are very large that utilizes the principles of
electromagnetism to generate the magnetic
field, like the ones used in scrap yards to pick
up cars.
The resistive magnet is a kind of electromagnet that is used to treat high
current values, in the same way as coil cooling. Unlike permanent
magnets, electromagnets allow us to turn them on and off whenever we
need them, we only have to disconnect them from the power supply. On
the other hand, resistive magnets have a higher intensity than permanent
magnets.

They are lower in cost, but need a lot of power to run that means, large
current values which runs through loops of wire because of the natural
resistance of the wire. Therefore they produce a lot of heat, which
requires significant cooling of the magnet coils.
Such systems have a high power consumption (e.g., a 0.1 T unit re­qui­
res about 20 kW), create a lot of heat, and therefore need large ca­pa­ci­
ty cooling systems.

The common four loops of wire creat­ing the

sta­tic magnetic field can be arranged (a)
parallel or (b) perpendicular to the pa­ti­ent
table; the per­pen­di­cu­­lar (head to foot)
orientation is more com­mon.
Resistive magnets come in two general categories: iron-core and air-core.
Resistive magnets are typically limited to maximum field strengths can
be up to 0.6 Tesla. They usually have an open design, which reduces
claustrophobia
 Superconducting Magnets
A superconducting magnet is an electromagnet made of superconducting
wire. Superconducting wire has a resistance approximately equal to zero
when it is cooled to a temperature close to absolute zero (-273.15 °C or 0
K) by immersing it in liquid helium. Once current is caused to flow in the
coil it will continue to flow as long as the coil is kept at liquid helium
temperatures.
Superconducting magnets are Today's most commonly used in MRIs.
These superconductors, such as niobium-tin and niobium-titanium are
used to make the coil windings for superconducting magnets. The
magnetic field is generated by a passing electrical current through coils of
wire. The wire is surrounded with a coolant, such as liquid helium, to
reduce the electric resistance of the wire.

First layer of NbTiCu solenoidal

winding being applied to a glass
reinforced polymer former (shell)
At 4 Kelvin (-269 C) electric wire looses its resistance. Once a system is
energized, it won't loose its magnetic field. Superconductivity allows for
systems with very high field strengths up to 12 Tesla. The ones that are
most used in clinical environments run at 1.5 Tesla. Most
superconducting magnets are bore type magnets.

Toshiba's OPART 0.35 Tesla system

Shimming
is the process by which the main magnetic field (Bo) is made more
homogenous.

MRI requires a very high homogeneous static magnetic field. In order

to produce high resolution images, the magnetic field inhomogeneity
produced in a high performance MRI scanner must be maintained to
the order of several ppm.
Magnetic shimming refers to the process of reducing magnetic field
inhomogeneities. It is an important aspect of optimizing image quality.
Field inhomogeneities can be the result by both intrinsic magnet
properties and the surrounding environment of the MR magnet – such as
the presence of nearby metallic and electrical structures and the fields of
nearby scanners. Magnetic field homogeneity needs to be considered on a
patient-by-patient basis in order to fine tune the resulting image
resolution and quality.
Shimming (or adjustment of the static magnetic field homogeneity) is
accomplished by two methods: (1) Passive shimming (2) Active shimming

Passive shimming

Passive shimming in MRI is the process of using specially designed, non-

magnetic shims to adjust the magnetic field within the bore of the MRI
scanner. These shims are placed inside the scanner in areas where the
magnetic field needs to be adjusted, without the need to alter the main
magnetic field of the scanner. Passive shimming is done prior to scanning
to ensure that the magnetic field is uniform and that the MR images
obtained are of high quality.
 definition of shim
((they are small pieces of magnetic material or electrical coils that are
inserted into the scanner to adjust the magnetic field and improve its
homogeneity. There are two types of shimming: passive shimming, where
fixed shims are placed within the scanner, and active shimming, where
electromagnets are used to continually adjust the magnetic field during
scanning)).
 Active shimming
The electrical adjustments, which use extra exciting currents, are known
as active shimming.

Active shimming in MRI is the process of adjusting the magnetic field

within an MRI scanner using electromagnets that are controlled by a
computer. Unlike passive shimming, which uses fixed shims to adjust the
magnetic field, active shimming is performed dynamically during the MRI
scan. The magnetic field in an MRI scanner must be highly homogeneous
in order to obtain accurate and high-quality images. However, the magnetic
field can be affected by a range of factors, including imperfections in the
scanner's hardware and the presence of nearby objects.
 Active shimming is performed with coils with adjustable current.
Active shimming requires passage of electric current through coils
with unique geometric configurations. The shim coils are designed to
correct inhomogeneities of specific geometries
Active shimming works by measuring the magnetic field at various points
within the scanner and adjusting the electromagnets to correct any non-
uniformities. These adjustments are made in real-time during the scan,
allowing for continuous optimization of the magnetic field.