1st Edition

MRI Essentials for Innovative Technologies

By Giuseppe Placidi Copyright 2012
    216 Pages 85 B/W Illustrations
    by CRC Press

    222 Pages 85 B/W Illustrations
    by CRC Press

    MRI: Essentials for Innovative Technologies describes novel methods to improve magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) beyond its current limitations. It proposes smart encoding methods and acquisition sequences to deal with frequency displacement due to residual static magnetic field inhomogeneity, motion, and undersampling. Requiring few or no hardware modifications, these speculative methods offer building blocks that can be combined and refined to overcome barriers to more advanced MRI applications, such as real-time imaging and open systems.

    After a concise review of basic mathematical tools and the physics of MRI, the book describes the severe artifacts produced by conventional MRI techniques. It first tackles magnetic field inhomogeneities, outlining conventional solutions as well as a completely different approach based on time-varying gradients and temporal frequency variation coding (acceleration). The book then proposes two innovative acquisition methods for reducing acquisition time, motion, and undersampling artifacts: adaptive acquisition and compressed sensing. The concluding chapter lays out the author’s predictions for the future of MRI.

    For some of the proposed solutions, this is the first time the reported results have been published. Where experimental data is preliminary or unavailable, the book presents only numerical solutions. Offering insight into emerging MRI techniques, this book provides readers with specialized knowledge to help them design better acquisition sequences and select appropriate correction methods.

    The author’s proceeds from the sale of this book will be entirely donated to Bambin Gesù Children’s Hospital in Rome.

    I BASIC CONCEPTS

    Mathematical Tools
    Frequency Encoding and Fourier Transform
    FT Properties
    Sampling, Interpolation, and Aliasing
    Instruments for Image Analysis

    MRI: Conventional Imaging Techniques and Instruments
    Magnetic Resonance Phenomenon
    Imaging Gradients
    Conventional Imaging Techniques
    Bandwidth, Sampling, Resolution, and Sensitivity
    An MRI Scanner
    Bloch Equations and Numerical MRI Simulators

    II LIMITATIONS OF CONVENTIONAL MRI

    Limiting Artifacts for Advanced Applications
    Magnetic Field Inhomogeneity
    Motion
    Undersampling
    Summary

    III ADVANCED SOLUTIONS

    Methods for Magnetic Field Inhomogeneity Reduction
    Introduction
    Conventional Methods
    An Unconventional Solution
    Summary

    Methods to Handle Undersampling
    Introduction
    Sparse Methods without Restoration
    Sparse Methods with Restoration
    Summary

    IV THE FUTURE

    Conclusions and perspectives
    Some Hypothesis

    Bibliography

    Index

    Biography

    Giuseppe Placidi is an assistant professor in Computer Science in the Department of Health Sciences at the University of L’Aquila. He has authored or co-authored more than 55 papers published in international scientific journals and books, 60 refereed conferences proceedings, and seven patents. He is a member of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, the IEEE Computer Society, the Italian Group for Electron Spin Resonance (GIRSE), and the Italian Group for Physics of Matter (INFM). Dr. Placidi is also a reviewer for several scientific journals on medical physics and imaging. His research interests include MRI, MRI acquisition sequences, image reconstruction, image analysis, image compression, and information theory.

    For more information, see www.giuseppeplacidi.org.

    "MRI Essentials for Innovative Technologies describes novel methods to improve MRI beyond its current limitations and combines rigorous development of mathematical concepts with descriptive presentations of the emerging MRI techniques. …Although this book covers a specialized area of MRI and the emerging technologies around this imaging modality, the text is comprehensible to most readers."
    IEEE Pulse Magazine, April 2014

    "The deep physical insight into the relationship between spin dynamics and gradient field modulation expressed in this book paves the way to a completely new family of pulse sequences that may represent a new line of development for MRI. As a whole, this excellent book should be found on the bookshelves of all those specializing in the field of magnetic resonance."
    —From the Foreword by Antonello Sotgiu, Professor and Chairman, Department of Health Sciences, University of L'Aquila, Italy

    "[This book] is complete, readable and usable both for research and for specialized learning purposes in areas of advanced MRI imaging techniques. Dr. Placidi indicates a path useful to both physicists and engineers for implementation, and to radiologists and clinicians in thinking of possible new ways to apply the suggested methods."
    —From the Foreword by Roberto Passariello, MD, Professor and Chairman, Department of Radiological Sciences, Policlinico Umberto I, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy