Principles of nuclear magnetic resonance and MRI

© Oxford University Press 2001. All rights reserved. Imaging using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) was first demonstrated in the 1970s, and has since seen huge application in diagnostic radiology. It has been described using a number of formalisms and at a number of levels of complexity. This chapter traverses a path inbetween unnecessary rigorous complexity and over-simplifying inaccuracy of NMR imaging, and involves a discussion of most imaging experiments that can be understood using the principles of classical physics and quantum effects. It illustrates that NMR has a long history in helping to elucidate the chemical composition of samples via an analysis of their NMR spectra. The chapter emphasizes the concepts of spatial understanding and k- space, discusses Fourier imaging and studies nuclei namely hydrogen, phosphorus and carbon in the case of biomedical magnetic resonance spectroscopy.