Before you can understand my work you need to know how a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner works (in principle).

MRI is a method of creating images of the inside of opaque organs in living organisms as well as detecting the amount of bound water in geological structures. It is primarily used to visualize pathological or other physiological alterations of living tissues as well as to estimate the permeability of rock to hydrocarbons. It is now a commonly used form of medical imaging.

First, the spins of the atomic nuclei of the tissue molecules are aligned in a powerful magnetic field. Then, radio frequency pulses are applied in a plane perpendicular to the magnetic field lines so as to cause some of the hydrogen nuclei to change alignment. The frequency of the radio wave pulses used is a function of the static magnetic field. Magnetic field gradients are then applied in the 3 dimensional planes to allow encoding of the position of the atoms. After this, the radio frequency is turned off and the nuclei go back to their original configuration but, as they do so, they release radio frequency energy which can be picked up by coils wrapped around the patient. These signals are recorded and the resulting data are processed by a computer to generate an image of the tissue. Thus, the examined tissue can be seen with its quite detailed anatomical features.

This text was mostly taken from the free encyclopaedia Wikipedia.
For more information see (the great and free) online book "The Basics of MRI".

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