Related topics: proceedings of the national academy of sciences , brain , blood flow , mri



Magnetic resonance imaging

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Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), or nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (NMRI), is primarily a medical imaging technique most commonly used in radiology to visualize the internal structure and function of the body. MRI provides much greater contrast between the different soft tissues of the body than computed tomography (CT) does, making it especially useful in neurological (brain), musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, and oncological (cancer) imaging. Unlike CT, it uses no ionizing radiation, but uses a powerful magnetic field to align the nuclear magnetization of (usually) hydrogen atoms in water in the body. Radio frequency (RF) fields are used to systematically alter the alignment of this magnetization, causing the hydrogen nuclei to produce a rotating magnetic field detectable by the scanner. This signal can be manipulated by additional magnetic fields to build up enough information to construct an image of the body.:36

Magnetic Resonance Imaging is a relatively new technology. The first MR image was published in 1973 and the first cross-sectional image of a living mouse was published in January 1974. The first studies performed on humans were published in 1977. By comparison, the first human X-ray image was taken in 1895.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging was developed from knowledge gained in the study of nuclear magnetic resonance. In its early years the technique was referred to as nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (NMRI). However, as the word nuclear was associated in the public mind with ionizing radiation exposure it is generally now referred to simply as MRI. Scientists still use the term NMRI when discussing non-medical devices operating on the same principles. The term Magnetic Resonance Tomography (MRT) is also sometimes used.

For more information about Magnetic resonance imaging, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.


News tagged with magnetic resonance imaging

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Marohn describes breakthrough imaging technology

Researchers are on the path to creating nano-MRI images

Physics / General Physics

created Dec 22, 2009 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (6) | comments 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- Cornell researchers are devising methods to detect the magnetic fields of individual electrons and atomic nuclei, which they hope to use to make a nanoscale version of magnetic resonance imaging.


For older adults, participating in social service activities can improve brain functions

Medicine & Health / Health

created Dec 15, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Volunteer service, such as tutoring children, can help older adults delay or reverse declining brain function, according to a study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Using functional ...


FDA researchers identify new MRI safety risk for patients with pacemakers

Medicine & Health / Research

created Dec 15, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (3) | comments 0

FDA researchers have found that certain cardiac pacemakers may inadequately stimulate a patient's heart while undergoing a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan due to the magnetic pulses mixing with the electronic pulses ...


New imaging technique reveals different heart motions by age, gender

Medicine & Health / Research

created Dec 08, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Using a new noninvasive imaging technique, scientists said they have discovered important, fundamental differences in heart motion by age and gender.


Brain scans show distinctive patterns in people with generalized anxiety disorder

Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry

created Dec 07, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Scrambled connections between the part of the brain that processes fear and emotion and other brain regions could be the hallmark of a common anxiety disorder, according to a new study from the Stanford University School ...


Don't I know you? Research sheds light on memorial retrieval

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Dec 07, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

We have all had the embarrassing experience of seeing an acquaintance in an unfamiliar setting. We know we know them but can't recall who they are. But with the correct cues from conversation or context, something seems ...


I see your pain

I see your pain

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Dec 03, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (2) | comments 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- How can some sportsmen and women, in the heat of the moment, play on through pain that would floor anyone else? Bert Trautmann, the Manchester City goalkeeper, famously played on through to ...


Childhood lead exposure causes permanent brain damage

Medicine & Health / Health

created Dec 01, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 2

A study using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to evaluate brain function revealed that adults who were exposed to lead as children incur permanent brain injury. The results were presented today at the annual ...


Study: Believers' inferences about God's beliefs are uniquely egocentric

Study: Believers' inferences about God's beliefs are uniquely egocentric

Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry

created Nov 30, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (49) | comments 182

Religious people tend to use their own beliefs as a guide in thinking about what God believes, but are less constrained when reasoning about other people's beliefs, according to new study published in the ...


New study finds men and women may respond differently to danger

Medicine & Health / Research

created Nov 29, 2009 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (3) | comments 1

Researchers using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to study brain activation have found that men and women respond differently to positive and negative stimuli, according to a study presented today at the annual ...


Scale of justice

fMRI scans used in murder trial sentencing

Medicine & Health / Other

created Nov 25, 2009 | popularity 3.3 / 5 (4) | comments 15

(PhysOrg.com) -- Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) scans have been used, possibly for the first time, in the sentencing phase of a murder trial in Chicago in the US.


Most radiation oncologists utilize advanced medical imaging techniques, study suggests

Medicine & Health / Cancer

created Nov 25, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

A recent study shows that 95 percent of radiation oncologists use advanced imaging techniques such as positron emission tomography (FDG-PET), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and 4-dimensional computed tomography (4DCT) ...


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Intel wants a chip implant in your brain

Technology / Hi Tech

created Nov 23, 2009 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (35) | comments 50

(PhysOrg.com) -- Computer chip maker Intel wants to implant a brain-sensing chip directly into the brains of its customers to allow them to operate computers and other devices without moving a muscle.


UCSB physicists move one step closer to quantum computing

UCSB physicists move one step closer to quantum computing

Physics / Quantum Physics

created Nov 20, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (9) | comments 0

Physicists at UC Santa Barbara have made an important advance in electrically controlling quantum states of electrons, a step that could help in the development of quantum computing. The work is published ...


Computer Based on Insights From The Brain Moves Closer to Reality

Computer Based on Insights From The Brain Moves Closer to Reality

Technology / Computer Sciences

created Nov 18, 2009 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (26) | comments 4

(PhysOrg.com) -- Today at SC 09, the supercomputing conference, IBM announced significant progress toward creating a computer system that simulates and emulates the brain's abilities for sensation, perception, ...