Magnetic resonance imaging
hideMagnetic 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
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News tagged with magnetic resonance imaging
Study: Believers' inferences about God's beliefs are uniquely egocentric
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Nov 30, 2009 |
4.2 / 5 (37) |
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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
Nov 29, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (3) |
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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 ...
I see your pain
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Dec 03, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (2) |
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
Dec 01, 2009 |
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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 ...
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Study Unravels Detail of 'Most Important' Cellular Signal
Dec 03, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A new study provides crucial details that promise to help researchers better understand, and perhaps fine-tune with drugs, one of the most important signaling mechanisms in human cells, according to a study ...
Researchers Build Artificial Immune System to Solve Computational Problems
Technology / Computer Sciences
Dec 03, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (11) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- By mimicking the way that a living body acquires immunity to disease through vaccination, researchers have designed an artificial immune system to solve optimization problems more effectively ...
Air Force Center of Excellence awarded in nanostructures and improved cognition
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Dec 01, 2009 |
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The Georgia Institute of Technology has been awarded a U.S. Air Force Center of Excellence to design nanostructures for energy harvesting and adaptive materials, and to develop tools to optimize critical cognitive ...
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