Magneto-Acoustic Resonance Imaging

This project will develop a new technology, magnetoacoustic resonance imaging (MARI), thatcan produce whole-body images of equal or superior quality to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) usingthe same contrast mechanisms as MRI, but at 12 to 24% of the cost. The low cost results from amagnetic field requirement only 1% of that needed for MRI as well as a far simpler voxel locationsubsystem. The radio oscillator pulsing protocol of MRI is unchanged, but pulsed magnetic gradientsare eliminated along with the need for superconducting magnets and special facilities. If successful, thisproject will make magnetic resonance examinations much more widely available than they have beenwith present-day MRI. The limited, specific aim of this application is to test feasibility of the new voxelsensing subsystem. Feasibility will be evaluated by measuring signal to noise ratio in the detectoroutput, comparing it with MRI values of -- 200:1, and by the ability of the new subsystem to pick outcoherent nuclear spin signals from selected volumes within a phantom in a steady 0.01 tesla magneticfield.