Basic concepts for nuclear magnetic resonance imaging

The basic concepts necessary to understand the physical basis of NMR imaging are presented in this didactic article. It is intended as a starting point for the radiologist or medical physicist who is addressing the topic of NMR for the first time. The basis of the NMR phenomena is described with introduction of the concepts of magnetic moment, magnetic fields, magnetic resonance, net magnetic moment of a sample, NMR excitation and NMR emission. The equipment necessary to observe these NMR properties of matter is summarized as well as the procedures for basic pulsed NMR experiments. The physical concepts for spatial localization of NMR emissions are introduced with physical analogies to stringed musical instruments. Several alternative imaging modalities are compared with greatest emphasis on the inversion recovery technique which yields images weighted by tissue T₁ values. The six subsystems of an NMR imaging device (primary magnet, computer, radio equipment, magnetic gradient, data storage and display subsystems) are described in an overview fashion. The paper is followed by a series of study questions to test the reader's comprehension of basic NMR imaging concepts.     

磁共振波谱与成像技术

文章简要介绍了核磁共振的基本原理,详细阐述了液体核磁共振在蛋白质结构、功能和动力学等方面的研究进展,论述了增强固体核磁共振分辨率的方法及其应用,讲述了磁共振成像的原理并综述了不同磁共振成像方法的应用研究进展,并对核磁共振的发展作了展望。     

核磁共振成像系列实验教学探讨

超小型核磁共振成像仪已经应用在近代物理实验教学中,该仪器可以研究各种样品的脉冲核磁共振.本文从教学内容和教学方法上对核磁共振成像实验进行了探讨·     

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging in the diagnosis of spinal osteomyelitis

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Imaging (NMR) was performed on two patients whose clinical radiograph and bone scanning suggested spinal osteomyelitis before and after successful antimicrobial therapy. The images obtained suggest that NMR may be more useful in the diagnosis of this condition than other conventional imaging techniques. Hitherto NMR has not been considered particularly useful for the diagnosis of bone disease. This may be true for cortical bone, from which no signal is obtained using the NMR technique, but for medullary bone it appears to be a potentially useful, non-invasive and safe method of diagnosis.     

2H nuclear magnetic resonance study of deuterated water dynamics in perfluorosulfonic acid ionomer Nafion

We have employed deuteron nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy in order to study the dynamics of the deuterated water (D₂O) molecules introduced into a perfluorosulfonic acid ionomer Nafion (NR-211) film. According to the ²H NMR spectral analysis, the deuterated water molecules at low temperatures occupied either relatively rigid or mobile sites up to the temperature T_M=240 K where all the deuterated water molecules became mobile. The temperature-dependent NMR linewidths sensitively reflected the motional narrowing of the rigid and mobile sites, and the NMR chemical shift reflected significant changes in the hydrogen bonds of the deuterated water. While a slow- to fast-limit motional transition was manifested at T_M in the laboratory-frame NMR spin–lattice relaxation, the rotating-frame spin–lattice relaxation indicated no bulk liquid water state down to 200 K.     

Water dynamics in ionic magnetic colloids studied by H nuclear magnetic resonance

In a previous nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) study we observed that the NMR spectra of water in both surfacted and ionic ferrofluids are asymmetric and several orders of magnitude wider than the one of pure water. It has been proposed that this effect is produced by extremely strong magnetic field gradients in the intergrain volume and/or by surface interactions between the carrier liquid molecules and the grains surface. In the case of aqueous ionic ferrofluids the latter possibility should be interpreted as electric interactions between water (polar) molecules and the charges in the grain surface.

In this work we study a series of ionic and surfacted ferrofluids prepared at different magnetic grain concentrations and sizes, and with different surface charge densities. Our experiments clearly show that the sign and the density of the electric charge on the magnetic grains have no influence on NMR spectra. On the other hand, spectral widths increase with the magnetic grain concentration.     

Head and body imaging by hydrogen nuclear magnetic resonance

A hydrogen (¹H) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging study of the normal head, thorax, and limbs is reported. The images are 10 to 15 mm thick transverse slices obtained in 2 to 4 min using a two-dimensional Fourier transform technique. Spatial resolution in the imaging plane is about 2 mm, enabling the optic nerve and many small blood vessels to be observed. Thorax scans show details of the cardiac chambers, aorta wall, and lungs without artefacts arising from physiological motion.     

A design of novel type superconducting magnet for super—high field functional magnetic resonance imaging by using the harmonic analysis method of magnetic vector potentials

The approach of expanding the magnetic scalar potential in a series of Legendre polynomials is suitable for designing a conventional superconducting magnetic resonance imaging magnet of distributed solenoidal configuration. Whereas the approach of expanding the magnetic vector potential in associated Legendre harmonics is suitable for designing a single-solenoid magnet that has multiple tiers, in which each tier may have multiple layers with different winding lengths. A set of three equations to suppress some of the lowest higher-order harmonics is found. As an example, a 4T single-solenoid magnetic resonance imaging magnet with 4×6 layers of superconducting wires is designed. The degree of homogeneity in the 0.5m diameter sphere volume is better than 5.8 ppm. The same degree of homogeneity is retained after optimal integralization of turns in each correction layer. The ratio B_m/B₀ in the single-solenoid magnet is 30% lower than that in the conventional six-solenoid magnet. This tolerates higher rated superconducting current in the coil. The Lorentz force of the coil in the single-solenoid system is also much lower than in the six-solenoid system. This novel type of magnet possesses significant advantage over conventional magnets, especially when used as a super-high field functional magnetic resonance imaging magnet.     

Noninvasive (1)H and (23)Na nuclear magnetic resonance imaging of ancient Egyptian human mummified tissue

Historic mummies are a unique example of the human desire for immortality. Therefore, it is not surprising that modern diagnostic imaging has been widely applied to study them. Yet, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of such old remains has never been successfully achieved in a noninvasive way without rehydration. Furthermore, the impact of artificial mummification as done in ancient Egypt by natron (a blend of NaCl, Na(2)CO(3), NaHCO(3) and NaP(2)SO(4)) on human tissue with a particular focus on the sodium spatial distribution has never been addressed. Here, we show for the very first time completely noninvasive (1)H and (23)Na imaging of an ancient Egyptian mummified finger by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Protons could be visualized by NMR only in the tissue close to surface and sodium primarily in the bone, while computer tomography images both, soft tissue and bone but does not distinguish between different chemical elements. The selective enrichment of sodium in the bone may by due to postmortem incorporation of (23)Na into the tissue by natron-based mummification because our reference measurement of a historical finger not subjected to artificial mummification showed no sodium signal at all. Our results demonstrate not only the general feasibility of nonclinical MRI to visualize historic dry human tissues but also shows the specific (1)H and (23)Na spatial distributions in such mummy tissue, which is particularly interesting for archeology and may open up a new application for MRI.     

Weighted iterative inversion method for T2 spectrum in nuclear magnetic resonance

Abstract

In traditional nuclear magnetic resonance T₂ inversion methods, the components with long T₂ absorb the components with short T₂, especially for low magnetic field intensity. As a result, the true distribution of all components often cannot be reflected by their solutions, and thus obtaining short T₂ components is an important T₂ inversion problem. Herein, a weighted iterative inversion method for T₂ spectrum in nuclear magnetic resonance is proposed to solve this problem. The weight-based method is applied to ensure that the short T₂ components are not eliminated. The weight scheme is determined by two parameters: the number of weights and maximum weight. The number of weights is determined by the rate of decay, and the maximum weight is mainly determined by three parameters: signal-noise ratio, curvature, and slope of collected signal. To avoid the mutations of results caused by weights, the iteration process was adopted to obtain the optimal solution. The proposed method provides good results, and it was verified to be robust and accurate though simulations and experiments.     

Site location and requirements for the installation of a nuclear magnetic resonance scanning unit

The installation of a nuclear magnetic resonance unit in any diagnostic facility involves certain location and environmental requirements. Based on our experience with the FONAR QED 80 system, we have delineated the major factors which must be considered when planning for such an installation. The major requirements are location and space. Suggested layouts for the suite and the control room are included. Certain environmental specifications will vary depending on the location of the facility and the type of unit installed.     

Nuclear magnetic resonance study of iron overload in liver tissue

Whole-tissue and homogenized samples of human liver were studied in a NMR spectrometer, T1 and T2 relaxation times were measured as a function of added inorganic or organic iron. When inorganic iron (Fe+3) was added, pronounced T1 and T2 shortening was noted. However, when organic iron, in the form of ferritin, was added, the amount of T1 and T2 relaxation enhancement was much reduced for the same amount of added iron. The in vitro ferritin results model the situation found in clinical studies of hemochromatosis. Only in cases of severe iron overload were significant decreases in relaxation times observed. The T2 relaxation time was the more reliable indicator of excessive levels of iron in the liver. The large range of T1 and T2 values encountered in normal volunteers precludes the use of MR to quantitatively measure iron levels in the liver. The T1 and T2 relaxation times measured at intervals for one individual tend to fluctuate as well, making the use of MR to follow the course of treatment of iron overload disorders unreliable.     

Cardiovascular applications of magnetic resonance imaging

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a completely noninvasive modality that has shown significant promise for the evaluation of the cardiovascular system. Our imaging technique employed electrocardiographic (ECG) gating, which resulted in well-resolved images of the cardiac structures. Patients and animals with a variety of cardiovascular abnormalities were also assessed with this technique; the abnormalities included acute and remote myocardial infarctions and their sequelae, atherosclerotic plaques, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, pericardial diseases, and aneurysms. The diagnostic utility of MRI includes direct tissue characterization, and such utility may be further extended by the use of paramagnetic contrast media. In addition, metabolic imaging of elements other than hydrogen may further increase the clinical potential of MRI for assessment of the cardiovascular system.     

超极化~(129)Xe磁共振波谱和成像及在生物医学中的应用

文章简要介绍了磁共振波谱和成像的基本原理和对限制其灵敏度的挑战,详细阐述了为增强磁共振信号而制备超极化129Xe的物理机制,论述了129Xe在生物组织中的溶解性以及化学位移的特异性,综述了当前超极化129Xe在肺部、脑部成像领域的研究进展和在临床方面应用所取得的有代表性的研究成果,并讨论了基于超极化129Xe分子生物探针的超灵敏磁共振技术的研究前景,最后对超极化129Xe在生物医学领域的应用与发展作了展望.     

基于深度神经网络的时空编码磁共振成像超分辨率重建方法

单扫描时空编码磁共振成像是一种新型超快速磁共振成像技术,它对磁场不均匀和化学位移伪影有较强的抵抗性,但是其固有的空间分辨率较低,因此通常需要进行超分辨率重建,以在不增加采样点数的情况下提高时空编码磁共振图像的空间分辨率.然而,现有的重建方法存在迭代求解时间长、重建结果有混叠伪影残留等问题.为此,本文提出了一种基于深度神经网络的单扫描时空编码磁共振成像超分辨率重建方法.该方法采用模拟样本训练深度神经网络,再利用训练好的网络模型对实际采样信号进行重建.数值模拟、水模和活体鼠脑的实验结果表明,该方法能快速重建出无残留混叠伪影、纹理信息清楚的超分辨率时空编码磁共振图像.适当增加训练样本数量以及在训练样本中加入适当的随机噪声水平,有助于改善重建效果.     

A multiple-field (23)Na NMR study of sodium species in porous carbons

The sodium environments in porous carbon materials prepared from NaOH activation of a char were investigated by means of multiple-field solid-state ²³Na NMR measurements, carried out at magnetic fields of 4.7, 8.45 and 14.1 T, with single-pulse excitation and magic angle spinning (MAS). The recorded spectra showed a relatively featureless resonance with linewidth and peak shift strongly dependent on the magnetic field strength and on the hydration level of the samples. The existence of second-order quadrupolar effects was inferred, although the structural disorder and the mobile character associated with the Na environment precluded the direct observation of typical quadrupolar features in the MAS NMR spectra. The analysis of the spectra collected at multiple magnetic fields yielded the values of −2.8 ppm for the isotropic chemical shift and 1.8 MHz for the quadrupole coupling constant, which were interpreted as due to Na⁺ ions bonded to oxygenated groups at the edges of the graphene planes within the carbon pore network.     

Designing shielded radio-frequency phased-array coils for magnetic resonance imaging

In this paper, an approach to the design of shielded radio-frequency (RF) phased-array coils for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is proposed. The target field method is used to find current densities distributed on primary and shield coils. The stream function technique is used to discretize current densities and to obtain the winding patterns of the coils. The corresponding highly ill-conditioned integral equation is solved by the Tikhonov regularization with a penalty function related to the minimum curvature. To balance the simplicity and smoothness with the homogeneity of the magnetic field of the coil’s winding pattern, the selection of a penalty factor is discussed in detail.