Prepolarized MRI of hard tissues and solid-state matter.
NMR Biomed
; 35(8): e4737, 2022 08.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-35384092
ABSTRACT
Prepolarized MRI (PMRI) is a long-established technique conceived to counteract the loss in signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) inherent to low-field MRI systems. When it comes to hard biological tissues and solid-state matter, PMRI is severely restricted by their ultra-short characteristic relaxation times. Here we demonstrate that efficient hard-tissue prepolarization is within reach with a special-purpose 0.26 T scanner designed for ex vivo dental MRI and equipped with suitable high-power electronics. We have characterized the performance of a 0.5 T prepolarizer module, which can be switched on and off in 200 µs. To this end, we have used resin, dental and bone samples, all with T1 times of the order of 20 ms at our field strength. The measured SNR enhancement is in good agreement with a simple theoretical model, and deviations in extreme regimes can be attributed to mechanical vibrations due to the magnetic interaction between the prepolarization and main magnets.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
/
Magnetics
Type of study:
Prognostic_studies
Language:
En
Journal:
NMR Biomed
Journal subject:
DIAGNOSTICO POR IMAGEM
/
MEDICINA NUCLEAR
Year:
2022
Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Spain