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BME 327: Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Prerequisites

PHYSICS 135-3

Description

Who Takes It?

Students in the fields of engineering, biology, and neuroscience who are interested in aging in depth knowledge about Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) which is a diagnostic imaging technique that has found widespread applications in medical imaging research and clinical applications. MRI was initially developed in the 1970s and 1980s and has now become an integral part of the clinical diagnosis and monitoring of diseases affecting the entire human body. It has the potential to provide a variety of information about the human body, including anatomy, function, blood flow, and metabolism. This course will provide fundamentals and basic concepts of magnetic resonance imaging and their applications to disease diagnosis.

What It's About

This course will first introduce the basic physics of MRI, including nuclear spin, magnetic moments, interactions with external magnetic fields, and relaxation processes. The second portion of the course will discuss basic concepts of image formation, including radiofrequency pulse excitation, magnetic field gradients, imaging equation, Fourier Transform, k-space, and two-dimensional spatial encoding. The final portion of the course will introduce practical imaging methods and applications, such as image artifacts, fast imaging methods, signal-to-noise, contrast-to-noise, resolution, and MR imaging of the heart and blood vessels.

Homework

Weekly assignments will be distributed on every Thursday. Due Thursday the the following week, results to be handed in during the Thursday lecture. Homework will include exercises that require Matlab for MRI image analysis and display.

Lab

Two sessions will include hands-on lab work at MR systems at the Center of Translational Imaging (CTI) at the downtown Chicago campus and the Center for Molecular Imaging (CAMI) on the Evanston campus. The lab report counts as midterm exam

At the end of the class, students are expected to have:

A basic but systematic understanding of the MRI fundamentals
A basic understanding of major technical issues in MRI;
General knowledge of clinical applications of MRI. This will prepare students to perform advanced research on MR imaging in the future.

Mini-Syllabus

1	Introduction, overview, basic concepts of MRI
2	Mathematics related to MRI, Introduction to Matlab programming for MRI homework
3	Spin physics: Nuclear Spin, interactions with applied magnetic fields, rf-excitation, FID
4	Spin physics: T1, T2, T2* Relaxation, Bloch equations
5	Imaging principles: magnetic field gradients, spatial localization, frequency encoding, imaging equation
6	Imaging principles: Fourier transform, slice selection, phase encoding, echoes, k-space
7	Imaging principles: rf-excitation revisited, finite sampling, pulse sequence design
8	Fundamental MRI techniques: Spin echo
9	Fundamental MRI techniques: Gradient echo
10	Lab I: Hands-on MR imaging on human and ultra-high field small animal MR systems
11	Lab II: Small student groups split between CTI & CAMI on both days
12	Imaging considerations: Image contrast, steady state, diffusion imaging
13	Imaging considerations: SNR, Image Quality, Artifacts, Chemical Shift, Spectroscopy 3D imaging
14	Imaging considerations: Field inhomogeneity, Susceptibility, T₂*, Contrast agents
15	Imaging considerations: MR-signal phase, phase-contrast MRI, elastography
16	Imaging principles: Fast imaging, parallel imaging
17	Advanced applications I: cardiovascular MRI
18	Advanced applications II: MR Angiography
19	Student presentations
20	Final Exam

Textbook

None, reading materials will be provided during class

Syllabus

Academics / Courses / DescriptionsBME 327: Magnetic Resonance Imaging