66-279 Magnetic resonance imaging and biophysical modeling

Instructors: Dr. Jürgen Finsterbusch; Dr. Siawoosh Mohammadi

Event type: Lecture

Displayed in timetable as: Tomographie

Hours per week: 4

Language of instruction: English

Min. | Max. participants: 5 | 30

Comments/contents:
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an imaging methods that is able to acquire cross-sectional images of the human body non-invasively. It does not use ionizing radiation and has become an important tool in clinical diagnostics and biomedical research. A particular advantage of MRI is that many physiological and tissue properties influence the measured signal and can be investigated with specific acquisition methods to derive important information about the anatomy, physiology, and function of organs, detect and distinguish pathologic changes, and characterize the composition and structure of the tissue.  

The first part of the lecture will cover the physical background and basics of MRI: the NMR experiment, the methods for spatial encoding that introduce a spatial information into the NMR signal, the different NMR echoes, basic acquisition techniques and principles, and important image contrasts as well as practical aspects, e.g. spatial resolution and safety. The second part covers the description of the signals measured with MRI with physical and biophysical models. The physical models aim to allow for a quantitative evaluation of the signal properties, e.g. to enable comparisons between different acquisitions. Biophysical models are based on simple assumptions considering the microstructure of the tissue and how these can be estimated from the MR signal, e.g. the shape and size of cells, nerve fiber density in brain tissue or the thickness of the myelin sheet around these fibers.

Attention! The first lecture presumably is on Oct 17, 2023!

Learning objectives:
After finishing the module successfully, participants are able summarize the physical basics of magnetic resonance imaging and biophysical modelling and are familiar with current scientific developments in these fields.

Additional examination information:
depending on number of participants
- written exam (60-90min)
or
- oral exam (45-60min)

Prerequisites
- attendance of the lectures on a regular basis

Language
- German or English