CHM 402
MAGNETIC
RESONANCE
IMAGING
Presented By-
[Link]
Dibyendu Roy
Oishi Bhattacherjee
Sanskriti Kumari
Bhumika
Shamurailatpam
Yatrik Bhaveshbhai Dave
Introduction Contrast Agents
History Image formation
Instrumentation Application
Signal Generation Advantages and
limitations
Signal References
Interpretation
INTRODUCTION
• Uses same principle as NMR;MRI concerned with the entire human body
• Commonly used medical device to examine soft tissues and find injuries,
tumors, or diseases in different parts of the body (brain, spine, joints, heart etc)
; no harmful Radiation
• MRI exploits quantum property of H atoms present in water,carbohydrate
and fat.
• The proton inside the nuclei of H atom behaves as a tiny bar magnet;
randomly oriented hence cancel out each other
• The machine works by lining up tiny particles in the body’s water molecules
and detecting the signal generated.
HISTORY
• In the 1930s, physicist I.I. Rabi developed nuclear magnetic L->R---Felix Bloch,Edward
resonance (NMR) to measure magnetic properties, laying the Purcell,[Link]
foundation for MRI.
• In the 1940s, Felix Bloch and Edward Purcell independently
studied magnetic resonance in solids and liquids, enabling MRI
to use the body's water content for imaging. They won the
1952 Nobel Prize in Physics.
• In 1969, Dr. Raymond Damadian proposed using NMR for
medical imaging while researching cell sodium and potassium.
He filed the first MRI patent in 1972, and by 1974, he built a
full-body MRI machine, "Indomitable," now in the Smithsonian.
On July 3, 1977, he captured the first human MRI scan, revealing
his assistant Larry Minkoff’s chest structures, pioneering modern
MRI.
[Link]
Damadian
MODERN MRI
INSTRUMENTATIO
N
PRIMARY MAGNET
[Link] of niobium-titanium alloy wires,
which become superconducting below 10K
(−263°C).
[Link] at low temperatures using liquid
helium cooling systems.
[Link] a strong, uniform magnetic
field to align hydrogen protons in body
tissues.
[Link] for signal generation &
imaging in MRI.
Field Strength:
Medical MRI: 0.5T – 3T
Research MRI: 7T or higher
(better signal-to-noise ratio (SNR)
and resolution).
Type & Design:
Casing : non magnetic material stainless
steel, aluminium
Composed of solenoid-shaped,
housed in a cryostat for cooling.
SHIM COIL
A shim coil in NMR is a set of electromagnetic
coils used to correct inhomogeneities in
the main magnetic field.
These coils generate small, adjustable
magnetic fields ensuring a more uniform field
across imperfections the sample.
Proper shimming improves spectral resolution
by minimizing broadening and distortions.
Shimming can be automatic (software-
controlled) or manual by adjusting coil current.
Gradient
GRADIENT COIL coil
Purpose:
[Link] spatial encoding of MRI signals for 3D
imaging.
[Link] controlled variations in magnetic
field strength along the X, Y, and Z axes.
The three main functions of gradient coils are:
• Slice Selection
• Frequency Encoding
• Phase Encoding
Design & Performance:
•Designed using Biot-Savart’s law and
Ampere’s circuital law to ensure linear
magnetic field gradients.
•Copper or superconducting wire loops
arranged in a specific pattern for optimal field
generation.
•Requires high current (up to hundreds of
amperes) with rapid switching (kHz range)
to change gradients.
Gradient
Radiofrequency
coil
Coils
RF coils are essential components in MRI, responsible for both transmitting and
receiving radiofrequency signals
Importance of RF Coils in MRI:
Image Quality:
RF coils are essential for achieving high-
quality MRI images with good SNR, signal
uniformity, and resolution.
Patient Comfort:
RF coils are designed to be comfortable for
patients during MRI scans.
Specific Applications:
Different types of RF coils are used for imaging
different body parts and applications.
Classification of RF coils is typically based on their
function:
•Transmit-Receive Coils (Volume Coils) – Used
for both excitation and detection.
Example: Birdcage Coil (common in head and body
imaging).
•Transmit Coils – Dedicated to excitation only.
Example: Body Coil (built into MRI scanner).
•Receive Coils: Improve signal detection with
higher sensitivity.
Example: Head, Spine, or Cardiac Coils (closer to
the region of interest for better SNR).
TYPES OF MRI
SIGNAL
LOCALIZATION
X AXIS Y AXIS
VOXEL
Z AXIS
Z-AXIS SLICE SELECTION
GRADIENT
• All the protons from head to toe
precessing at same larmor
frequency.
• Entire body gives same signal
• Place helmholtz pair of coils one
at the head and the other at the 3 3 3 3 3 3
toe. T T T T T T
• The Larmor frequencies of the
nuclei vary along the z-axis
• In this way, a slice along the z-
axis is selected.
273M 273M 273M 273M 273M 273M
RF PULSE - 273
Hz Hz Hz Hz Hz Hz
MHz
2.7 2.9 3.1 3.2 3.3
2.8 3T
T T T T T T
RF PULSE - 267 267M 269MH 271M 273M 275M
277M 279M
MHz Hz z Hz Hz Hz
Hz Hz
Y-AXIS PHASE ENCODING
GRADIENT
TOP VIEW OF A SELECTED HEAD
SIZE
ALL PROTONS ARE IN SAME PHASE ALL PROTONS ALONG Y AXIS ARE IN DIFFERENT
PHASE
X-AXIS FREQUENCY ENCODING
GRADIENT
ALL PROTONS ALONG X AXIS ARE IN DIFFERENT
FRENQUENCY
F F F
MATRIX
REPRESENTATION
Now we defined all the three axes
and hence achieved High
resolution .
This data is useful for Diagnosis .
SPIN ECHO PULSE SEQUENCE
PEG
SSG FEG
RF PULSE Repeated
SIGNAL GENERATION
free protons in the body protons aligned in scanner
Radiofrequency pulse Signal creation
T1 AND T2 RELAXATION
T1 relaxation T2 relaxation
Short TR and Long TR and
SIGNAL DIFFERENTIATION
1. T1- and T2-weighted images can be
easily differentiated by looking the
CSF[Cerebrospinal fluid].
2. CSF is dark on T1-weighted imaging
and bright on T2-weighted imaging and
the Fluid Attenuated Inversion Recovery
(Flair).
TISSUE DIFFERENTIATION
BASED ON SIGNALS
1. Protons in the body realign and dephase with varying rapidity
depending on the tissue type.
2. Protons in fat realign quickly with high energy and produce high T1
signal–this phenomenon is exploited to produce 'T1-weighted'
images.
3. Protons in water dephase slowly – this phenomenon is exploited to
produce-T2-weighted' images.
FLAIR [Fluid attenuated inversion recovery] ---
1. It’s the modified version of T2-weighed images.
2. It suppresses the signal from CSF making it darker instead of bright. And
allows better visualization of brain tissue.
HOW IT WORKS ?
Uses long inversion time [T1] to suppress CSF and maintain long echo time for
stronger T2 weighed image.
WHY IS IT USED ?
Detecting pathology closes to brain ventricles.
SOME EXAMPLES
T2 MRI Image of the Cervical Spine T1 MRI Image of the Cervical
Spine
T1 images – 1 tissue type is bright – FAT
T2 images – 2 tissue types are bright – FAT and WATER
CONTRAST AGENTS
IN MRI
CONTRAST AGENTS
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
contrast agents are widely used to
increase the contrast difference
between normal and abnormal
tissues.
The first contrast-enhanced human
MRI study was reported in 1981
using ferric chloride as the
contrast agent in the
gastrointestinal (GI) tract. In 1984,
Carr et al first proved the use of a
gadolinium compound as a
diagnostic intravascular MRI
contrast agent
SUPER
PARAMAGNET
IC
PARAMAGNET
IC
MRCA
TRANSITIO
N
METALS
FERRO
MAGNETI
C
MAGNETIC PROPERTIES
Transition
Paramagnetic Superparamagnetic
Metals
high spin
Gadolinium(+3) Manganese(II iron (III) oxides
)
The most commonly selected metal atom used in Dysprosium
----- ----
MRCA is the lanthanide ion Gd(III) as it possesses a (+3)
high magnetic moment and it is the most stable
ion with unpaired electrons.
Due to the presence of unpaired electrons, these
contrast agents possess paramagnetic properties;
gadolinium has seven, dysprosium has four and
manganese has five unpaired electrons.
GBCA
Gd-based contrast agents shorten neighboring water
protons' T1 (or longitudinal) or T2 (or transverse)
relaxation time.
These effects increase the signal intensity of T1-
weighted images, and reduce the signal intensity of T2-
weighted images .
T1 shortening occurs at lower gadolinium concentrations,
whereas T2 shortening occurs at higher gadolinium
concentrations, which is of limited clinical use due to the
increased risk of toxicity.
Contrast agents containing transition metal ions, such
as high spin manganese (II) and superparamagnetic iron
oxide such as iron (III) oxides, affect the T2 relaxation
strongly
EFFECT ON MRI
Positive Contrast Negative Contrast
Agents Agents
Superparamagnetic or
Paramagne
ferromagnetic
tic
T1 T2 shortening
shortening
Bright on T1 weighted Dark on T2 weighted
images images
GD(+3) TOXICITY
Gadolinium (III) is weakly bound to serum
proteins and may be displaced by ligands.
Lanthanide salts generally hydrolyse into
hydroxides, which are taken up by the
reticuloendothelial system (RES) and
accumulate in the body, particularly in the
liver, spleen and bone, thereby causing
potential toxicity.
GD(III) BASED
CHELATION
Gadolinium (Gd³⁺) ions are highly toxic due to their strong
interaction with biological macromolecules and interference
with cellular functions. Chelation reduces the release of Free
Gd³⁺ Ions (a hard Lewis acid)
1. Enhancement of Kinetic and Thermodynamic Stability
2. Prevention of Biomolecular Interactions
3. Increased Excretion and Reduced Retention
4. Minimization of Oxidative Stress and Toxic Byproducts
CLINICALLY
USED
CONTRAST
AGENTS
BASED ON
GD+3
COMPLEXES
ROUTE OF
ADMINISTRATION
• Ionic intravenous contrast agents-Eg-Gd-
DTPA(first intravenous MRI contrast agent)
• Nonionic intravenous contrast agents-Eg-
Gadodiamide.
• The recommended dose is 0.1mmol/kg of body
weight and the recommended injection rate
0.5mmol/ml. Higher doses (0.2–0.3mmol/kg),
may also be required for MR angiography and
CNS imaging
• Oral contrast agents-appropriate for GI tract
scans. Natural or Artificial heavy metal ion
[Link] oral administration of MRI contrast
agents containing manganese is a novel,
noninvasive method for imaging
BIODISTRIBUTION
Extracellular fluid Bolus-Prepared
(ECF) agents- Cerebral
intravenous are Angiography(BPCA)-
distributed in the extra- intravascular contrast
cellular space. Targeted and organ- agents, excreted more
Eg-Gd-DTPA used in specific contrast slowly than their ECF
liver imaging. Mainly agents-selective counterparts, ideal
eliminated by renal distribution in the body to imaging of blood
excretion. accumulate at the vessels.
required site to reach
high local concentrations,
compound has to be inert
chemically and
biologically, and be
completely eliminated
from the body.
Process of image formation in MRI
K-SPACE
• Different waves of
varying spatial
frequency and
directions overlay
these on top of one
another we form the
physical image.
• These wave signals
are stored in K-Space
(aka Fourier Space)
along a coordinate
system.
K-SPACE
• Any particular point on K-
space contributes to the
whole image
• Any image pixel is derived
from the whole of K-space
• K-space is symmetrical
• Within K-space the high-
frequency signals are within
the periphery and the low-
frequency signals are within
the centre. The x and y-
axes determine the
orientation of the signal
wavelengths.
Computer
Aided
MRI of brain images
Diagnosis
Pre-
(CAD)
processing
Post
processing
Feature
extraction
Image
analysis
Diagnosi
s
COMPUTER-AIDED
DIAGNOSIS(CAD) SYSTEM
• de-noising methods
• Images Enhancement
and Filtering
• Colour Fundamentals
• Segmentation
FILTERS
• Mean Filter : use mean/average value of
pixels to replace the center of the pixel
• Median Filter : use of median value
pixels, remove noise with high frequency
components from MRI without disturbing
edges
• Gaussian Filter : blur images and remove
details/noise
Pre Advantag
• Create
e? a mask around unncessary tissue
Processing
• Reduce time consumption-For eg, if we
MRI images are loaded to
have 128 image clips, we can use a single
a software and remove
command to process all 128x3=384 images
any unwanted
atmospheric noise by
of 3 different slices including T1, T2, T1 post
filter contrast and FLAIR images
Fig- Slices
of the
brain
a)
saggital
b) axial
c) coronal
Block based division : division into several
regions
Multiparameter calculations
• Edge (E) parameter determines
boundary of an object
Fig : Edge image of
• Gray (G) parameter use intensity
MRI data set
difference to differentiate in gray
scale
• Contrast (H) parameter maps
gray level pixel to color pixel by the
use of color fundamental map
Fig : Gray to contrast
COLOUR FUNDAMENTALS
Post processsing
(Segmentation)
Segmentation-process of segmenting a
digital image into different segments.
Watershed segmentation-most efficent
method. It is a gradient based
segmentation technique. Different
gradient values are considered as
different height values Disadvantage-
Oversegmentation which
How do we segment tumor? produces a region for each
Tumor cells have high proteinaceous fluid local minima
and hence high density , so gives higher
intensity
3D MODELLING
Stacking of 2D slices to get a 3D
image
3D MODELLING
Software used is 3D
SLICER
Calculation of
segmented tumor Fig : Intensity
image of MRI data
dimension set using
• After watershed segmentation, a watershed
command is used to segment segmetation and
after ROI
tumor
command
• segmented tumor is calculated as
xyz voxel from diffrent angles
• tumor can be considered to be
made up of many layers Fig :
• for each layer, dimension is Segmented
tumor
calculated and then total volume
• this assists in tumor removal
medical surgeries
ADVANTAGE LIMITATIONS
S
• Non-invasive and No Radiation: MRI • Expensive and Time-Consuming:
uses magnetic fields and radio waves, MRI scans tend to be more expensive
so it doesn't expose patients to harmful than other imaging methods, and the
ionizing radiation (unlike X-rays or CT procedure can take longer, often
scans). requiring the patient to remain still for
• High Soft Tissue Contrast: MRI extended periods.
• Limited for Certain Conditions: MRI
provides detailed images of soft tissues
like the brain, muscles, and organs, is not always suitable for patients with
metal implants or pacemakers, as the
making it ideal for diagnosing
strong magnetic field can interfere with
conditions like tumors, joint injuries, or
or damage these devices.
neurological disorders.
• Claustrophobia and Discomfort:
• Versatile Imaging: MRI can capture
The enclosed MRI machine can cause
images in multiple planes (e.g., axial,
discomfort or anxiety in some patients,
sagittal, coronal), offering a
particularly those who are
comprehensive view of the body’s
claustrophobic.
internal structures.
Referenc
es
1.[Link]
2.[Link]
228642047_Brain_tumor_detection_based_on_multi-
parameter_MRI_image_analysis/links/559b5bc308ae99aa62ce42e3/Brain-tumor-
[Link]
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5.[Link]
95326830/[Link]
6.[Link]
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