Short Introduction to MRI Physics for Neuroimaging

by Michael Chappell, Thomas Okell, Mark Jenkinson

It is not necessary to understand everything there is to know about MR physics and how an MRI scanner works to successfully run neuroimaging experiments. However, some basics are necessary to be able to design good experiments and interpret results carefully. In this Short Introduction we will outline the basics of MR physics and how MRI scanners work. This text is one of a number of appendices to the Oxford Neuroimaging Primers, designed to provide extra details and information that someone reading one of the primers might find helpful, but where it is not crucial to the understanding of the main material. This appendix specifically addresses the physical principles that underpin MRI, as it is used in neuroimaging. In it we seek to go into more detail than we might in one of the primers, such as the Introduction to Neuroimaging Analysis, for those who want to understand more about what is actually going on when we acquire MRI images of the brain. In turn, this appendix also provides more context on some of the decisions that are made when designing the most suitable acquisition for any given MRI modality for a particular imaging application or study design.

60 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 24, 2020