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
Wikipedia.
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News tagged with magnetic resonance
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Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Mar 23, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Most people can easily tell the difference between reality and fantasy. We know that characters in novels and movies are fictitious, and we also understand that historical figures - even if ...
Intel wants a chip implant in your brain
Nov 23, 2009 |
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(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
Nov 20, 2009 |
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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
Technology / Computer Sciences
Nov 18, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (26) |
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(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, ...
Colombian guerrillas help scientists locate literacy in the brain
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Oct 14, 2009 |
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A unique study of former guerrillas in Colombia has helped scientists redefine their understanding of the key regions of the brain involved in literacy. The study, funded by the Wellcome Trust and the Spanish ...
Matter in hand: Jugglers have rewired brains
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Oct 11, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Learning to juggle leads to changes in the white matter of the brain, an Oxford University study has shown.
Scans show learning 'sculpts' the brain's connections
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Oct 09, 2009 |
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Spontaneous brain activity formerly thought to be "white noise" measurably changes after a person learns a new task, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of Chieti, Italy, ...
Scientists develop novel use of neurotechnology to solve classic social problem
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Sep 10, 2009 |
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Economists and neuroscientists from the California Institute of Technology have shown that they can use information obtained through functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) measurements of whole-brain activity to create ...
Future angst? Brain scans show uncertainty fuels anxiety
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Aug 17, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Anyone who has spent a sleepless night anguishing over a possible job loss has experienced the central finding of a new brain scan study: Uncertainty makes a bad event feel even worse.
Brain difference in psychopaths identified
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Aug 04, 2009 |
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Professor Declan Murphy and colleagues Dr Michael Craig and Dr Marco Catani from the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London have found differences in the brain which may provide a biological explanation ...
Scientists discover area of brain that makes a 'people person'
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
May 20, 2009 |
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Cambridge University researchers have discovered that whether someone is a 'people-person' may depend on the structure of their brain: the greater the concentration of brain tissue in certain parts of the ...
Komodo even more deadly than thought: Research
May 18, 2009 |
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The carnivorous reptiles (Varanus komodoensis) are known to bite prey and release them, leaving them to bleed to death from their wounds: the victims are reported to go into shock before the dragons kill a ...
New imaging technology reveals prevalence of 'silent' heart attacks
Apr 21, 2009 |
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So-called "silent" heart attacks may be much more common than previously believed, according to researchers at Duke University Medical Center.
Brain abnormality found in boys with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Mar 17, 2009 |
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Researchers trying to uncover the mechanisms that cause attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and conduct disorder have found an abnormality in the brains of adolescent boys suffering from the conditions, but not where ...
Decoding short-term memory with fMRI
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Feb 21, 2009 |
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People voluntarily pick what information they store in short-term memory. Now, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), researchers can see just what information people are holding in memory based ...
