Volume-selective magnetic resonance imaging using an adjustable, single-sided, portable sensor.

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Biophysics
• Materials Science

Background:

• Portable, single-sided Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) sensors offer advantages over conventional systems, including lower cost, portability, and analysis of arbitrary-sized objects.
• Current limitations include difficulties in imaging high water content materials over large volumes due to strong magnetic field gradients and limited probe volumes in designs with homogeneous fields.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a novel portable NMR sensor design with a continuously adjustable sensitive volume.
• To overcome limitations in imaging large volumes and materials with high water content.

Main Methods:

• Development of a portable, single-sided NMR sensor with an adjustable sensitive volume.
• Demonstration of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) capabilities, including axial and sagittal planes.
• Acquisition of T(1)-weighted contrast images in a tissue sample at varying depths.

Main Results:

• The adjustable sensitive volume design allows for a several-fold enlargement of the effective probing volume.
• Successful imaging of larger objects in reasonable timeframes was achieved.
• Demonstrated MRI with T(1)-weighted contrast in a biological tissue sample.

Conclusions:

• The enhanced portable NMR sensor design significantly expands the imaging capabilities for larger objects and materials with high water content.
• This technology holds promise for future clinical imaging applications, leveraging the benefits of portable NMR.
• The adjustable volume addresses key limitations of previous single-sided NMR sensor designs.