Essay On MRI

1251 Words3 Pages

Joshua Cayetano
AP Physics/Period 3
Ms. Fitzmaurice
May 22nd, 2014
MRI Rough Draft
Three simple letters such as “MRI”, may leave one in question of what it’s about. But MRI stands for Magnetic Resonance Imaging. In other words, an elaborated scientific form of a x-ray. It derives from Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (NMR). NMR is enabling us to identify the structure of an organic molecule, but can also be applied to the imaging of the whole body organs, to what we know as an MRI. Spectroscopy is just a technique for analyzing the structure for a molecule based off how they absorb electromagnetic radiation. MRIs are one of the most powerful tools in medical diagnosis.
Spectroscopy works because molecules absorb electromagnetic radiation in discrete packets of energy called quanta. These electromagnetic radiation we speak of is described in forms of waves. The equations v = c/ or v = c . Where a wave can be defined by its frequency v or its wavelength and c is the speed of radiation, known as “the speed of light”. Then if the frequency of the incident radiation is v, the quanta is E = hv. Where E is the energy difference, h is the height, and v is the frequency again. We are able to see the image through NMRs by a process called excitation, where the absorbed energy causes electronic motion in the molecules. The human body contains primarily fat and water. Fat and water have plenty of hydrogen atoms which give off an NMR signal because of the hydrogen nuclei.
A chemical shift, called the position of an NMR absorption depends on the density of electrons around the hydrogen. The density is controlled by the structural environment of the observed nucleus. Thus, making the shifts of the hydrogen in a molecule are import...

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...led the isocenter of the magnet. The magnetic field at this point is Bo and the resonant frequency is o. NMR spectrum with more than one signal is in result of a linear magnetic field gradient being applied to the hypothetical head with three spin containing regions experiencing different magnetic fields. This principle forms the basis behind all MRIs.
A form of MRIs is one of the first procedures, Backprojecting imaging. It’s an extension of frequency encoding. The object is first placed in the magnetic field, the a one-dimensional field gradient is applied at several angles and the NMR spectrum is recorded for each gradient. A second spectrum is recorded with the gradient now at a one degree angle to the +Y axis. This is repeated throughout the 360o between 0o and 359o. Once recorded it can be backprojecetd to the computer memory giving an image we can see.

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