The principles of magnetic resonance

Magnetic Resonance (MR), which has no known biological hazard, is capable of producing high resolution thin tomographic images in any plane and blocks of 3-dimensional information. It can be used to study blood flow and to gain information about the composition of important materials seen and quantified on dimensionally accurate images. The MR image is a thin tomographic slice or a true three dimensional block of data which can be reconstructed in any desired way rather than a shadowgram of all the structures in the beam. It is the only imaging technique which can acquire data in a 3-dimensional format. CT images can be reconstructed to form a pseudo 3-D image or a hologram but the flexibility conferred by acquiring the data as a true 3-D block gives many advantages. The spatial resolution of MR images are theoretically those of low powered microscopy, the practical limits with the present generation of equipment are voxel sizes of one third by one third by two millimetres. The term Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is used commonly, particularly in the USA, avoiding association with the term, nuclear, and emphasizing the imaging potential of the technique. The terms Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) or Magnetic Resonance (MR) more correctly describe the most powerful diagnostic instrument yet devised. The simplified description of the phenomena involved in MR which follows is intended to be comprehensive and does not require foreknowledge of classical physics, quantum mechanics, fluency with mathematical formulae or an understanding of image reconstruction. There are many explanations of MR, some omitting the more difficult concepts. An accurate, comprehensive description is found on the textbook on MR by Gadian, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and its Applications for Living Systems (Oxford University Press, 1982).