Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) : Physics Lectures For Residents

Physics Lectures for Residents
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
Prof. J. K Tonui, PhD
School of Medicine,
Department of Radiology and Imaging,
2017
Learning Objectives
 At the end of this lecture, the student is expected to:
 Discuss the relaxation process of MZ.
 Describe T1 and T2 relaxation processes.
 Distinguish between T2 and T2* relaxation processes.
 Describe the net relaxation process.
2 RIB 810, 811 & 812 Imaging Physics 8/21/2019

Introduction
 In MRI technique,
 The pt. is magnetized in the direction of
external magnetic field, Bo and

 The net longitudinal magnetization, Mz, is at
an equilibrium state, and

 Is disturbed during excitation process in order
to produce detectable signal that is used for

image production.

Image Production
 However,
 We need to know where the electrical signal used for image
emanates from inside the patient body, and

 The question is “How do we know that?”
 Location of the signal
 Is determined by making every point within the body to have
different value of magnetic field other than Bo, and

 Is done by adding a field with varying value, i.e. magnetic gradient.

Image Production
 The magnetic gradient field,
 Makes the protons at different locations inside the body to
precess with different frequencies, (since fo  Bo), and

 The resulting MR signals from different locations have also
different frequencies, and is used to locate positions of signals

received, but
 If the protons rotate around in synchrony or in phase, then
northing would change, and this is not what happens practically.

Image Production
 The next questions is how is the signal produced?
 Excitation displaces Mz from its equilibrium position thro’ FA,
and when the exciting force is removed, then

 The Mz begin to revert back gradually to its equilibrium
position and in the process gives back the energy received

during excitation process, and
 This energy released carries the information required to
construct the image in MRI.

Relaxation
 Relaxation
 Is the process where Mz reverts back to equilibrium position
(i.e. along z-axis or longitudinal direction or parallel to Bo) after

excitation force is removed, and
 Hence is opposite to excitation process.
 Note that
 Relaxation does not happened abruptly but gradually, hence the
name.
Relaxation
 During excitation process,
 The RF pulse is switch ON for a short time and then switched
off, and
 Immediately the RF pulse is switched off , the unstable state of
the protons goes back gradually or relaxes to its equilibrium

state (i.e. original, quiet, and peaceful state), and
 This process affects both the transverse and longitudinal
magnetization.
Relaxation
 The relaxation process is divided into two parts:
 T1 relaxation and
 T2 relaxation.
 Relaxation
 Occurs because the protons that were lifted to a higher energy
level (walking on their hands analogy) by the RF pulse are unstable

(do not like being in this state), hence go back naturally to the
stable state or low energy state.
Relaxation
 Fig.
 Shows the relaxation
process, which
 Causes Mxy to disappear
and Mz to reappear after

flipping thro’ 90o.

Relaxation
 The gradual reappearance of Mz to its original size,
 Is referred as longitudinal relaxation, and
 Is described by T1 relaxation.
 The gradual disappearance of Mxy
 Is referred as transversal relaxation, and
 Is described by T2 relaxation.

Relaxation
 After switching off the RF signal,
 Northing holds back the protons after flipping them thro’ 90o,
hence
 They would prefer to go back to their equilibrium state, and
 They do so by releasing the energy they had absorbed from the RF
signal in form of a little heat (body warms up) and RF wave, which
is measured as MRI signal for image production.

T1 Relaxation
 After switching off the RF
excitation pulse,
 The net magnetization will re-
grow along the z-axis, while

 Emitting off RF waves, as
shown in these figures 1 to 4

at various times.

T1 Relaxation
 T1 relaxation
 Describes what happens in the z- or Bo direction , which
 Then restores initial state of Mz before excitation RF pulse was
sent into the patient, but

 We need to know what happens to the RF energy picked up by
the protons during excitation, i.e. what happens to this energy after
excitation is turned off?

T1 Relaxation
 The RF energy
 Impacted to the protons during excitation process is released to
the surroundings tissues, the so called lattice, during the

relaxation process, and
 For this reason, the T1 relaxation is also called Spin-Lattice-
Relaxation in addition to Longitudinal Relaxation.

T1 Relaxation
 T1 relaxation
 Affects only the protons in the volume (i.e. voxel) that
experienced the 90º-excitation pulse, and

 Since protons are bound (i.e. attached) differently to their
molecules/tissues, then
 Not all protons relaxes back to equilibrium state simultaneously,
but at different rates for individual tissue.

T1 Relaxation
 Relaxation rates are such that:
 The tightly bound protons (1H) release their energies very
quickly, (e.g. in Fat) and

 The loosely bound protons release their energy very slowly
(e.g. in water), and

 Hence, the rate of energy release is different resulting in a
continuous (takes time) process of energy release.

T1 Relaxation
 Fig.
 Shows how Mz re-grows back as a
function of time, where

o At t = 0, Mz = 0 right after the
RF-pulse is switched off, but

o Immediately thereafter, Mz starts
to recover gradually along the z-

axis.

T1 Relaxation
 The Fig. in previous slide,
 Is also called T1 relaxation curve, and
 Notice that it is an exponential re-growth curve of Mz and
 Its growth depends on how the spin interacts within the lattice,
and
 T1 relaxation constant is the time needed to recover 63% of the
Mz after 90o pulse (when Mz = 0).

T1 Relaxation
 Fig.
 Shows how T1 relaxation constant
is given by:
M z (t )  M o (1  e t /T1 )
 Where
o Mo is original longitudinal
magnetization;
o t is recovery time (100%), and
o T1 is relaxation constant.

T1 Relaxation
 Note that
 The protons goes back into
equilibrium position one by

one, and
 The Mz grows gradually in
magnitude from a small value

(Mz = 0 at the beginning),
until it attains its original
value, as shown in this Fig.

T1 Relaxation
 Fig.
 Shows the steps of recovery of Mz,
and
 When t = T1, then 1- e-1 = 0.63
and Mz = 0.63Mo.
 Each tissue will release energy
(relax) at a different rate and that

is why MRI has such good
contrast resolution.

T2 Relaxation
 T2 relaxation
 Is the 2nd part of relaxation and
 Is slightly more complicated than T1 relaxation.
 Note that
 T1 and T2 relaxation are two independent processes, and
 The only thing they have in common is that both processes
happen simultaneously,

T2 Relaxation
 T2 relaxation
 Describes what happens in the x-y plane, also called imaging
plane or tomographic plane, and

 It actually describe the disappearance of the magnetization, Mx,y,
which was created by excitation, while

 T1 relaxation describes the re-growth of Mz after disappearing
on being flipped into x-y plane or FA = 90o.

T2 Relaxation - Phase
 When two events occur in step (e.g. matching soldiers)
 Are said to be in-phase or in synchronization, and
 Fig. below shows two wheels rotating in-Phase.

T2 Relaxation - Phase
 Before excitation
 Each proton is spinning about its own
axis as shown in the left Fig., but

 All spins precess with same speed, and
 Spinning out-of-phase (i.e. incoherent).
 However,
 Application of 90o RF signal produces
phase coherence between the protons,

and produces maximum Mx,y for a given
voxel as shown in the right Fig.
T2 Relaxation
 When RF is switched off,
 The protons revert back
gradually to out-of-phase, and

 For simplicity, we have shown in
this Fig. with a group of protons

pointing up, and

T2 Relaxation
 Fig. shows T2 relaxation processes, where
 In A, only Mx,y precsses about z-axis after 90o is applied, and all spins are in-phase, but
 Since the spins behave like bar magnets, they repel each other and cause some spins to
be speeded up and others to be slowed down, and

 Results in gradual de-phasing (Figures A to E) of the spins until they are equally
separated around Bo.

T2 Relaxation
 T2 relaxation
 Describe the process of getting from
a total in-phase situation to a total

out-of-phase situation, and
 In a similar way, occurs gradually,
and its rate depends on how 1H is

bound to the molecule/tissue, and
 Fig. shows the de-phasing of Mx,y
with time.
T2 Relaxation Curves
 Right after the 90º RF-pulse,
 All the magnetization is “flipped” into the x-y plane, and
 Net magnetization changes name and is now called transverse
magnetization, Mxy, where

 At t = 0 all spins are in-phase, but immediately start to de-phase.
 Note that
 T2 relaxation is also a time constant, and
 Is defined as the time it takes for the spins to de-phase to 37% of the original value
as shown in the figure in previous slide.

T2 Relaxation
 The rate of de-phasing of the spins
 Is different for each tissue, where
 Tightly bound 1H in fat tissue will de-phase quickly , and
 Loosely bound 1H in water will de-phase much slowly.
 Note that
 T2 > T1 (i.e. happens much faster), where
 Typical values of T2 is in ms and that of T1 is in s.

T2 Relaxation
 T2 relaxation
 Is also called spin–spin relaxation, because
 It describes interactions between protons in their immediate
surroundings (molecules), and

 Its decay mechanism is determined by the molecular structure of
the sample.

T2 Relaxation
 The mathematical exponential relationship for T2 relaxation
is given by:
t / T2
M xy (t )  M oe
 where Mxy is the transverse magnetic moment at time t for a
sample that has Mo transverse magnetization at t = O, and

 When t = T2, then e-1 = 0.37, and Mxy = 0.37 Mo.

T2 Relaxation
 Note that
 In the presence of extrinsic magnetic inhomogeneities, e.g. non-
uniform or imperfect Bo,

 The loss of phase-coherence occurs more rapidly than from spin-
spin interactions by themselves, and

 When Bo inhomogeneity is considered, the spin-spin decay
constant T2 is shortened to T2* (as shown in Fig. in next slide)

T2 Relaxation
The loss of Mxy phase coherence occurs T2 is the decay time that results from intrinsic magnetic
exponentially and is caused by intrinsic properties of the sample.
spin-spin interactions in the tissues, as T2* is the decay time resulting from both intrinsic and
well as extrinsic magnetic field extrinsic magnetic field variations.
inhomogeneities. T2 is always longer than T2*.

T2* Relaxation
 T2* relaxation depends on:
 Depends on extent of Bo-inhomogeneity, which
 In turn depends on susceptibility of contract agents or magnetic
material in the body.

Net Relaxation
 Net relaxation
 Is the sum vector of T1 and T2 relaxations,
o i.e. as Mo precesses about Bo as it moves back
towards the direction of Bo, and
 The path that it takes is as shown in Fig.
beside, hence
 It execute a spiraling motion (helical
trajectory)

T1 vs. T2 Relaxation
 Coupling of T1- and T2-curves
 Results in a shape that resembles a mountain with a slope, and
o Climbing a mountain takes longer and this represents T1, while
o Sliding down a mountain takes shorter time and this represents T2, and
o This helps you to remember that T1 is normally longer than T2.

 T1 is significantly longer than T2’
 e.g. in a soft tissue, a T1 time of 500
ms has a corresponding T2 time that is

typically 5 to 10 times shorter (i.e.,
50 ms), and
 Molecular motion, size, and
interactions influence T1 and T2

relaxation.
 Molecules can be categorized roughly into three size groups:
 Small
o Has high frequency of vibration, and
o Long T1 and T2
 Medium
o Has medium frequency of vibration, and
o Short T1 and T2
 Large
o Low frequency of vibration, and
o Has long T1 and short T2
o Are slowly moving or bound molecules

Image production Processes in MRI

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Physics Lectures for Residents

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

Prof. J. K Tonui, PhD

 Discuss the relaxation process of MZ.

 Describe T1 and T2 relaxation processes.

 Distinguish between T2 and T2* relaxation processes.

 Describe the net relaxation process.

2 RIB 810, 811 & 812 Imaging Physics 8/21/2019

 The pt. is magnetized in the direction of

external magnetic field, Bo and

an equilibrium state, and

to produce detectable signal that is used for

3 RIB 810, 811 & 812 Imaging Physics 8/21/2019

 We need to know where the electrical signal used for image

emanates from inside the patient body, and

 Location of the signal

 Is determined by making every point within the body to have

different value of magnetic field other than Bo, and

4 RIB 810, 811 & 812 Imaging Physics 8/21/2019

 Makes the protons at different locations inside the body to

precess with different frequencies, (since fo  Bo), and

different frequencies, and is used to locate positions of signals

northing would change, and this is not what happens practically.

 Excitation displaces Mz from its equilibrium position thro’ FA,

and when the exciting force is removed, then

position and in the process gives back the energy received

construct the image in MRI.

 Is the process where Mz reverts back to equilibrium position

(i.e. along z-axis or longitudinal direction or parallel to Bo) after

 Relaxation does not happened abruptly but gradually, hence the

 The RF pulse is switch ON for a short time and then switched

the protons goes back gradually or relaxes to its equilibrium

 Occurs because the protons that were lifted to a higher energy

level (walking on their hands analogy) by the RF pulse are unstable

 Shows the relaxation

and Mz to reappear after

10 RIB 810, 811 & 812 Imaging Physics 8/21/2019

 Is referred as longitudinal relaxation, and

 The gradual disappearance of Mxy

 Is referred as transversal relaxation, and

11 RIB 810, 811 & 812 Imaging Physics 8/21/2019

 They do so by releasing the energy they had absorbed from the RF

12 RIB 810, 811 & 812 Imaging Physics 8/21/2019

grow along the z-axis, while

shown in these figures 1 to 4

13 RIB 810, 811 & 812 Imaging Physics 8/21/2019

 Describes what happens in the z- or Bo direction , which

 Then restores initial state of Mz before excitation RF pulse was

sent into the patient, but

14 RIB 810, 811 & 812 Imaging Physics 8/21/2019

 Impacted to the protons during excitation process is released to

the surroundings tissues, the so called lattice, during the

Relaxation in addition to Longitudinal Relaxation.

15 RIB 810, 811 & 812 Imaging Physics 8/21/2019

 Affects only the protons in the volume (i.e. voxel) that

experienced the 90º-excitation pulse, and

but at different rates for individual tissue.

16 RIB 810, 811 & 812 Imaging Physics 8/21/2019

 The tightly bound protons (1H) release their energies very

quickly, (e.g. in Fat) and

(e.g. in water), and

continuous (takes time) process of energy release.