Connie Quan

1st Period Physics

4/30/18

Project Research - MRI Scanners

A magnetic resonance imaging device, or more commonly known as an MRI, is a machine that
scans parts, or the entirety, of the body to process into images. These images are used to diagnosis
patients with conditions like bone abnormalities and other diseases. During an MRI, the patient lies flat
on the base of the machine and is electronically lifted into a giant, donut-shaped hole. The process is
completed from time spans of 10 minutes to sometimes well over an hour, since it differs from case to
case, and requires the patient to be very still. After the scan, sharp images are produced from the machine
and can be seen on computers or print. The image is detailed and the scan is thorough in its search.

The purpose of an MRI machine is to show intricate details in the human body through scans and
imagery. From there, doctors can determine the main problem that needs to be addressed with the
patient. Diagnosis is often difficult to conclude when the condition affects the internal systems of our
body, but an MRI can project the inner workings of everything with ease. With it, medical professionals
can rely on it for more accurate diagrams and diagnoses when compared to other detection methods. For
example, MRI scans can image soft-tissue structures of the body (such as the liver, heart, or other organs)
and are more likely in some cases to identify those diseases more accurately than other methods. In
addition, they are also valuable in diagnosing a wide variety of conditions.

Before this innovation, people actually relied on the basic X-Ray process to find out what was
wrong. However, X-Rays were found to be carcinogens, or cancer causing agents, because of their high
levels of radiation. Exposure to high doses of radiation over a short period of time can cause radiation
sickness, and sometimes even death. The first MRI was built in the 1700’s and served as a way to get
similar results from an X-Ray without the harmful radiation. From the past to now present day medical
science, the MRI was, and still is, an important step in imaging and scanning. The machine is pretty costly
to make and because of that, the scans are also expensive for patients. Economically, it was increasingly
profitable for radiologists as MRI scans became more common. In Kelly Joyce’s book Magnetic Appeal, she
describes the economic structures of the MRI machines saying “Calculating all MRI-related codes shows
that the number of procedures submitted to Medicare steadily increased throughout the 1990’s and
2000’s, reaching over seven million in 2005. Annual payments for MRI procedures cost Medicare close to
$1.75 billion in the same year.” She is also quoted saying “Radiologists who own their own imaging centers
can make close to a million dollars a year while radiologists who work for private units can make
anywhere between $200,000 and $800,000 per year.” Although the scans may be pricey, MRI scans
provide ways to scan the brain for potential problems (which was something that could only be done after
death back then) in detail while the patient is alive and without negative side effects. Without it, we would
 Connie Quan
1st Period Physics
4/30/18

be lost with inaccurate pictures, potential large doses of radiation poisoning, and the constant mystery
over conditions we would not be able to see or diagnose without it.

The MRI machine uses 2 main magnets, gradient coils, and RF coils to generate images. It utilizes
the main magnets to create a magnetic field that the internal body will react to. This field affects the
hydrogen atoms in the body and causes the rotation and magnetic field of the atom’s proton to align with
the magnet. This is similar to how magnetic domains align in an object when it is magnetized. Once these
atoms are aligned, a controlled radio frequency form the RF coils is emitted to the body that causes
independent low energy protons to turn and spin opposite to its original position. The frequency is
turned off and the atom is then aligned back with the MRI magnet. This movement back and forth is
called relaxation and the time it takes for the atom to go through relaxation and the energy signal that is
emitted through this action is what doctors use to determine between tissue, muscles, etc. in the body.
Each part of the body has a different speed and signal that is emitted back so it is tracked and placed with
a different shade of black, grey, or white, to differentiate between the many systems and organs. More
dense tissues are shaded with light colors and less dense tissues are shaded with dark colors. The shades
are compiled into one picture and you have a completed MRI at the end.

MRI scanners actually do not need a consistent flow of current to turn it on even though they
need a large amount of current to produce such a strong magnetic field. When it is assembled, the coil
magnet has to constantly be kept in liquid helium to lower the resistance of the wire to almost nothing.
This allows current to flow in large amounts freely and because there is no resistance, it flows constantly
in an almost infinite circle “forever”. Once it is lowered to about negative four hundred degrees
fahrenheit with the helium, it is essentially always running once the current source is taken out. Getting it
started is costly but once it is running, it basically uses no cost since the electric current inside the loop
doesn’t decay that much over time. With that said, an MRI scanner is kind of on the fence between the
categories of motors, generators, or transformers. It consumes current at first but afterwards, it is taken
off the source and is run with the same flow of current but in a loop “forever”. A motor turns electrical
energy to mechanical energy and although the scanner does use electrical energy, it does not turn
anything to mechanical energy. As for a generator, these turn mechanical energy to electrical energy,
which isn’t right either because an MRI uses electrical energy first. Finally, for a transformer, these
convert different voltages of different circuits into other amounts but MRI’s don’t do that either. An MRI
scanner is more similar to a motor than to the other two but it really is just like a simple nail
electromagnet. The nail with magnetic domains is like the patient with hydrogen atoms. The coil is like Commented [1]: This is senior HS level work, if not
above. You did an excellent job of taking a very
the MRI current coils and the battery is the current source. With this, the coil around the nail and the complicated topic and breaking it down into very simple
language. I will give some extra credit to reflect the
MRI scanner both produce an electromagnetic field that affects other things that can be magnetized. excellent work.
 Connie Quan
1st Period Physics
4/30/18

Sources
1. "MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging)." UXL Encyclopedia of Science, edited by Amy Hackney
Blackwell and Elizabeth Manar, 3rd ed., UXL, 2015. Student Resources In Context,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/XHMYNR955720331/SUIC?u=san56231&sid=SUIC&xid=
2b2f06e6. Accessed 25 Apr. 2018.

2. "Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)." Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 8 Apr. 2009.
school.eb.com/levels/high/article/magnetic-resonance-imaging/444124. Accessed 24 Apr. 2018.

3. "Magnetism." Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 28 Jul. 2016.

school.eb.com/levels/high/article/magnetism/106020 Accessed 24 Apr. 2018.

4. Radiological Society of North America, et al. “Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) - Body.” Body
MRI - Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Chest, Abdomen and Pelvis,
www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=bodymr. Accessed 24 Apr. 2018

5. Coyne, Kristen. “MRI: A Guided Tour.” MagLab, 22 Mar. 2017,

nationalmaglab.org/education/magnet-academy/learn-the-basics/stories/mri-a-guided-tour.
Accessed 25 Apr. 2018

6. Berger, Abi. “Magnetic Resonance Imaging.” BMJ : British Medical Journal, BMJ, 5 Jan. 2002,
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1121941/. Accessed 26 Apr. 2018

7. Sprawls, Perry. “Nuclear Magnetic Resonance.” Magnetic Resonance Imaging, 2000,

www.sprawls.org/mripmt/MRI03/index.html. Accessed 27 Apr. 2018

8. Tilakaratna, Prasanna. “How Magnetic Resonance Imaging Works Explained Simply.”

HowEquipmentWorks.com, www.howequipmentworks.com/mri_basics/Accessed 28. Apr. 2018

9. Paul, Gill. A History of Medicine in 50 Objects. Firefly Books, 2016.

 Connie Quan
1st Period Physics
4/30/18

10. Joyce, Kelly A. Magnetic Appeal: MRI and the Myth of Transparency. Cornell University Press, 2008.