Remote Sensing

29. Remote sensing Content 29.1 Production and use of X-rays 29.2 Production and use of ultrasound 29.3 Use of magnetic resonance as an imaging technique Learning outcomes Candidates should be able to: (a) explain in simple terms the need for remote sensing (non-invasive techniques of diagnosis) in medicine (b) explain the principles of the production of X-rays by electron bombardment of a metal target (c) describe the main features of a modern X-ray tube, including control of the intensity and hardness of the X-ray beam (d) show an understanding of the use of X-rays in imaging internal body structures, including a simple analysis of the causes of 1 sharpness and contrast in X-ray imaging

(e) show an understanding of the purpose of computed tomography or CT scanning (f) show an understanding of the principles of CT scanning (g) show an understanding of how the image of an 8-voxel cube can be developed using CT scanning (h) explain the principles of the generation and detection of ultrasonic waves using piezo-electric transducers (i) explain the main principles behind the use of ultrasound to obtain diagnostic information about internal structures (j) show an understanding of the meaning of acoustic impedance and its importance to the intensity reflection coefficient at a boundary (k) recall and solve problems by using the equation I = I0ex for the attenuation of X-rays and of ultrasound in matter (l) explain the main principles behind the use of magnetic resonance to obtain diagnostic information about internal structures (m) show an understanding of the function of the non-uniform magnetic field, superimposed on the large constant magnetic field, in diagnosis using magnetic resonance.
2

Remote Sensing
Remote sensing is the investigation of an object using equipment that has no direct contact with the object being investigated e.g. an orbiting satellite may be designed so that it can detect small changes in mean sea level. These small changes can then be interpreted to determine the nature of the rocks under the sea-bed. This investigation enables information to be gathered without actually drilling into the sea-bed Medical diagnosis for over 100 years used 2 risky techniques Observe the patient externally for fever, pulse-rate, breathing, vomiting, skin condition etc. This was part science and part art Carry out investigative invasive surgery which involved a high risk causing many patients to die either from trauma of surgery or infection Although there is some risk versus benefit with any procedure, now diagnostic imaging techniques have been developed that enable externally placed equipment to obtain detailed information about internal body structures without surgery i.e. non-invasive, from under the skin i.e. a form of remote sensing Some of the techniques make use of
X-rays Ultrasound Magnetic resonance imaging(MRI)
3

THE DUCK IS DEAD - diagnosis

A woman brought a very limp duck into a veterinary surgeon. As she laid her pet on the table, the vet pulled out his stethoscope and listened to the bird's chest. After a moment or two, the vet shook his head sadly and said, "I'm sorry, your duck, Cuddles, has passed away." The distressed woman wailed, "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am sure. The duck is dead," replied the vet.

"How can you be so sure?" she protested.. "I mean you haven't done any testing on him or anything. He might just be in a coma or something."

The vet rolled his eyes, turned around and left the room. ?????????????

cont
He returned a few minutes later with a black Labrador Retriever. As the duck's owner looked on in amazement, the dog stood on his hind legs, put his front paws on the examination table and sniffed the duck from top to bottom. He then looked up at the vet with sad eyes and shook his head. The vet patted the dog on the head and took it out of the room. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A few minutes later he returned with a cat. The cat jumped on the table and also delicately sniffed the bird from head to foot. The cat sat back on its haunches, shook its head, meowed softly and strolled out of the room.

Verdict
The vet looked at the woman and said, "I'm sorry, but as I said, this is most definitely, 100% certifiably, a dead duck." The vet turned to his computer terminal, hit a few keys and produced a bill, which he handed to the woman. The duck's owner, still in shock, took the bill. "$250?" she cried, "$250 just to tell me my duck is dead?"

Do you know why?

Verdict justified
The vet shrugged, "I'm sorry. If you had just taken my word for it, the bill would have been $20, .

 but with the Lab Report and the Cat Scan, it's now $250."

X-rays

10

X-ray machine

11

Dental X-ray

12

Mobile X-ray machine

13

Properties of X-rays
Produce fluorescence in materials e.g. zinc sulphide Produce latent image (developed to give visible image) Penetrate substances opaque to light Ionize and excite atoms and molecules Have biological effects in living organism

14

The production of X-rays

Whenever a charged particle is accelerated, electromagnetic radiation is emitted The frequency of the radiation or emitted photon is proportional to the magnitude of the acceleration Whenever high speed electrons are stopped in a metal target, X-ray photons are emitted X-rays production process:
A metal filament(cathode) in an evacuated tube made of material that is opaque to X-rays, is heated using a low voltage supply causing electrons to be emitted through the thermionic effect(the opaque material also reduces background radiation) The electrons are then accelerated through a potential difference of between 20 90 kV so that they have high energy and high speed, but this acceleration is insufficient to cause Xray radiation to be emitted These high energy and high speed electrons are then accelerated towards the target(anode), constructed of metal with a high melting point and high atomic number When these electrons are bombarded and strike or are stopped by the target metal, large decelerations are involved, causing the electrons to lose kinetic energy very rapidly giving rise to the emission of X-ray photons known as Bremmstrahlung radiation or braking radiation(slowing down) This X-ray beam is made to pass out of the tube through a window that is transparent to Xrays

Not all of the energy of the electrons is emitted as X-rays as the majority is transferred as thermal energy in the target rotating metal anode and cooling is necessary
15

Simplified design of an X-ray tube

16

X-ray spectrum
A typical X-ray spectrum of the variation with wavelength of the intensity has 2 distinct components: A continuous distribution of wavelengths with a sharp cut-off at the shortest wavelength, 0 Sharp peaks may be observed corresponding to the emission line spectra of the target material and therefore a characteristic of the target

Continuous X-rays

Characteristic X-rays

17

Continuous spectrum
The continuous distribution comes about because the electrons when incident on the metal target, will not all have the same decelerations but will instead have a wide range of values. Since the wavelength of the emitted spectrum is dependent on the deceleration, there will be a distribution of wavelengths The cut-off wavelength corresponds to an electron that is stopped in one collision in the target so that all of its kinetic energy is given up as one X-ray photon KE energy is lost in the form of X-ray photons Energy of photon depends on how much KE lost hence a continuous range Max energy of photon occurs when all KE of electrons is converted to X-rays.

18

Characteristic/discrete X-rays
Superimposed on the continuous spectrum Produced when an incident electron knocks electrons out of the Kshell(lowest shell) of the target atom An electron from the L or M shell may move into the vacancy in the K-shell, emitting characteristic X-rays

19

X-ray spectra

20

Discrete X-rays

M shell K

L
L shell

K shell

21

Difference between continuous and characteristic spectrum

Continuous Characteristic

(i) A continuous range of wavelength

(ii) Produced by loss of KE of incident electron

A discrete wavelength
Produced by electron transition from higher shell to inner shell

22

Quality of beam
Quality of beam describes how penetrating the beam is For monochromatic radiation, the quality is completely described by the wavelength High quality refers to a very penetrating beam. High quality beam is also known as hard X-ray while low quality is called soft X-ray. Quality is specified/measured by HVT (half-value thickness)

23

Control of the X-ray beam

In order that the optimum X-ray image may be obtained, there are 2 factors that need to be controlled Hardness is the penetration of the X-ray beam, which determines the fraction of the intensity of the incident beam that can penetrate the part of the body being X-rayed. In general the shorter the wavelength of the X-rays, the greater their penetration Intensity this is the wave power per unit area, and this affects the degree of blackening of the image

24

Hardness/penetration
The kinetic energy Ek of an electron is equal to the energy gained by the electron when it is accelerated from the cathode to the anode i.e. Ek = eV where e is the charge of an electron and V the accelerating potential difference Using E = hc/ at the cut-off wavelength, eV = hc/0 hence 0 = hc/(eV) i.e. the accelerating potential V thus determines the cut-off wavelength The larger the potential difference, the shorter the wavelength Therefore the hardness(penetration) of the X-ray beam is controlled by variation of the accelerating potential difference between the cathode and the anode A continuous distribution of wavelengths implies that there will be X-ray photons of long wavelengths that would not penetrate the person being investigated and hence would not contribute towards the X-ray image Such X-rays would add to the radiation dose received by the person without serving any purpose, so the X-ray beam emerging from the tube frequently passes through aluminium filters that absorb these long-wavelength photons
25

Intensity
The intensity of the beam depends on the number of photons emitted per unit time and hence the number of electrons hitting the metal target per unit time Since the electrons are produced by thermionic emission, increasing the heater or filament current in the cathode will increase the rate of production of electrons and hence increase the intensity of the X-ray beam

26

Example
The accelerating potential difference between the cathode and the anode of an X-ray tube is 30 kV. Given that the Planck constant is 6.6 x 10-34 J s, the charge on the electron is 1.6 x 10-19 C and the speed of light in free space is 3.0 x 108 m s-1, calculate the minimum wavelength of photons in the X-ray beam. Solution For the minimum wavelength, Energy gained by electron = energy of photon eV = hc/0 Therefore 0 = 4.1 x 10-11 m

27

The X-ray image

The image is based on the penetration of body parts by X-rays. The transmitted X-rays produce a latent image on a photographic film. The latent image is developed to give a visible image of the internal organ scanned. The image is not really an image in the sense of the real image produced by a lens X-ray is an ionising radiation. It loses energy mainly due to (a) absorption and (b) scattering The reduction in energy is an exponential decay to the distance traveled. When an X-ray beam is incident on the body part of the patient, it can penetrate soft tissues(skin, fat, muscle etc) with little loss of intensity A photographic film after development will show a dark area corresponding to these soft tissues Bone however, causes a greater attenuation(reduces the intensity by a greater extent) than soft tissues and therefore the photographic film will be lighter in colour in areas corresponding to the positions of bones The quality of the shadow image produced depends on its sharpness and contrast 28

X-ray images

29

X-ray images

30

X-ray images

31

A nebula: Image from Chandrasekhar observatory

32

Quality of imaging
Quality of an X-ray image is described by sharpness and contrast Sharpness refers to a clear boundary between different tissues or the ease with which the edges of structures can be determined A shadow image where the bones and other organs are clearly outlined is said to be a sharp image But although an image may be sharp, it may still not be clearly visible because there is little difference in the degree of blackening between e.g. bone and surrounding tissue An image having a wide range of degrees of blackening is said to have good contrast Contrast refers to different intensity (brightness) in the image of various parts of the internal organ.

33

Sharpness
Image is sharp if the boundary is clearly visible A sharp image requires a parallel X-ray beam which can be achieved by
(1) reducing the area of the target anode in the X-ray tube (2) limiting the size of the aperture through which the X-ray beam passes (3) reducing scattering of the emergent beam

34

Sharpness (1) reducing the area of the target anode in the X-ray tube
Secondary/partial shadows/penumbra can cause images to be blur The full shadow produces an area that is white on the film Where there is no shadow, the image will be black In the region of partial shadow or greyness, the image gradually changes from white to black If the image is to be sharp, this area of greyness must be reduced as much as possible The area of the target anode should be kept to a minimum

35

Sharpness (2) limiting the size of the aperture through which the X-ray beam passes
A reduction in the grey area at the edge of the image can also be achieved by limiting the size of the aperture through which the X-ray beam passes This is achieved by using overlapping metal sheet plates, through which the X-ray beam passes after leaving the tube

36

Sharpness - (3) reducing scattering of the emergent beam

As a result of interactions between photons and any substance through which the beam passes(even air), some photons will be scattered resulting in loss of sharpness These scattered or stray photons may be absorbed in a metal lead grid placed in front of the photographic film Scattering can also be reduced by reducing the distance between patient and film

37

Contrast
Good contrast is achieved when neighbouring body organs and tissues absorb the X-ray photons to very different extents e.g. bone and muscle Not the case e.g. if stomach or blood vessels are being investigated In such a case to improve contrast, especially for soft tissues, a contrasting medium is used The patient is asked to swallow a solution of barium sulphate(barium meal taken orally) which is a good absorber of X-ray photons, causing the outline of the stomach to show up clearly Blood vessels can be made to show up visibly by injecting a radio-opaque dye into the bloodstream

38

Contrast
Contrast also depends on other factors such as increasing exposure time and the use of intensifying cassettes or backing the film with fluorescent materials

39

The attenuation of X-rays

When a parallel beam of X-ray photons passes through a medium, absorption processes occur that reduce the intensity of the beam The intensity is reduced(attenuation) by the same fraction each time the beam passes through equal thicknesses of the medium no matter what the starting point is chosen. This thickness of medium is called the half-valuethickness(HVT) and denoted by the symbol x The decrease in transmitted intensity is an exponential decrease

40

Linear attenuation coefficient

Consider a parallel beam having an incident intensity I0 and the medium(absorber) having thickness x and the transmitted energy is I The transmitted energy is given by the expression I = I0 e-x or I = I0 exp(-x) where is a constant depending on the medium and on the energy of the X-ray photons, known as the linear attenuation coefficient or the linear absorption coefficient of the medium. The unit is mm-1 or cm-1

41

Linear attenuation coefficient and HVT

For a thickness x (the half-value-thickness) of the medium, the intensity I will be equal to I0 hence I0 = I0 e-x or I0 exp(-x) which gives x = ln 2 where x is HVT In practice, x does not have a precise value as it is constant only when the beam has photons of one energy only. Approximate values of linear absorption coefficient for some substances are: Substance /cm-1 copper 7 water 0.3 fat 0.9 bone 3

42

Example
The linear absorption coefficient of copper is 0.693 mm-1. Calculate: (a) the thickness of copper required to reduce the incident intensity by 50% (b) the fraction of the incident intensity of a parallel beam that is transmitted through a copper plate of thickness 1.2 cm

Solution (a) using I = I0 e-x or I = I0 exp(-x) I/I0 = 0.50 = exp(-0.693x) ln 0.50 = - 0.693x therefore x = 1.0 mm
(b) I/I0 = exp(-0.693 x 12) I/I0 = 2.4 x 10-4
43

Computed tomography(CT scanning)

The image produced on a photographic plate or film is a shadow or flat image, and there is little or no indication of depth i.e. the position within the body is not apparent. This is a 2-dimensional view Soft tissues lying behind structures that are very dense also cannot be detected Tomography is a technique whereby a 3-dimensional image is obtained or constructed by slicing or sectioning the body using a CT scanner through different angles using computer technology and techniques Data from each individual X-ray image and angle of viewing is fed into a powerful computer enabling a 3-D image of the entire object to be reconstructed, which can then be viewed from any angle

44

45

Basic principles of CT or CAT scan

Can be illustrated using a simple cube with the aim of producing an image of a slice or section through the body from measurements made about its axis The section or cube is divided into a series of smaller units called voxels which absorbs the X-ray beam to different extents due to its structure The intensity transmitted through each voxel alone is given a number referred to as a pixel, and these various pixels are built up from measurements of the X-ray intensity along different directions through the slice or section Operated by using a moving X-ray emitter and detector and a powerful computer to store data, reconstruction of these pixels in their correct positions is done to display the 3D image of the internal organ being scanned

46

Re-construction of the slice or section

Suppose a simple cube showing a four-voxel section

The image of each voxel would have a particular intensity, known as a pixel. The pixels are built up from measurements of X-ray intensity made along a series of different directions around the section of the body The number on each voxel is the pixel intensity that is to be reproduced Pixel(picture element) is actually a two dimensional unit based on the matrix size and the field of view. When the CT slice thickness is also factored in, the unit is known as a Voxel, which is a three dimensional unit.
47

Detector readings(illustrations - clockwise)

48

Final pattern

In order to obtain the original pattern of pixels, two operations must be performed. - 1. The background intensity must be removed. The background
intensity is the total of each set of detector readings. In this case, 14 is deducted from each pixel. - 2. After deduction of the background, the result must be divided by three to allow for the duplication of the views of the section since 4 sets of readings were taken

49

CT cont
In practice, the image of each section is built up from many small pixels, each viewed from many different angles. The greater the number of voxels, the better the definition, similar to a digital camera In order to build up an image of the whole body, the procedure would be repeated for further sections through the body. All the data for all the sections can be stored in the computer memory to create a three-dimensional image. Views of the body from different angles may constructed The collection of the data and its construction into a display on a screen requires a powerful computer and complicated software programming and programs. In fact, the reconstruction of each pixel intensity value requires more than one million computations. The computer allows for the contrast and brightness of the image to be varied so that an optimum image can be obtained
50

Advantages/disadvantages
CT scan is expensive but is indispensable in todays medical practice Although historically the images generated were in the axial or transverse plane, orthogonal to the long axis of the body Modern scanners allow this volume of data to be reformatted in various planes or even as volumetric (3D) representations of structures. The image of the organ can be viewed in any direction. You can look at the organ from the front, top, back, and side. Hence a 3 D image of the organ Higher resolution compared to Ultrasound Excellent for bone imaging

51

Exercise
1. Compare the image produced during an X-ray investigation and that produced in CT scanning 2. The principles of CT scanning have been understood for some time. However scanners could not be developed until large powerful computers were made available. By reference to the image produced in a CT scan, suggest why such a computer is necessary 3. A simple object consists of 4 voxels out of 8 voxels (i.e. cube can be thought of as 2 slices). The object is scanned from 4 different directions, each at 45 to the next. The detector measurements for each individual voxel are summed and the result is as shown here. The total of the readings of the detectors in any one position is 22. Determine the pattern of the pixels in the voxels

40 34

49 31
52

Ultrasound
Incident wave

Reflected wave
Boundary between media

Transmitted wave
53

Recap piezo-electric effect

Piezo-electric devices contain a crystal which can expand and compress when external pressure is varied e.g. quartz The crystals structure is such that the centre of positive charges coincides with the centre of negative charges when not stressed When expanded, both centres will not coincide. When compressed, the centres will be in the opposite direction as compared to under expansion. The separation results in a voltage across the crystal surface and this effect is known as the piezo-electric effect

54

Piezo-electric transducer
A piezo-electric device is a sensor that detects differences in pressure (sound wave) Variation in pressure will result in an ac voltage The magnitude of the voltage generated depends on the magnitude of the pressure on the crystal and the polarity depends on whether the crystal is compressed or expanded i.e. whether the pressure is greater than or less than the ambient pressure A transducer is any device that converts energy from one form to another The piezoelectric transducer converts mechanical energy (vibration) into electrical energy in the form of ac voltages It also can convert electrical voltages back to vibration. Hence it acts as a receiver as well as an emitter. To detect the voltages, opposite faces of the crystal are coated with a metal (silver) and electrical connections are made to these metal films and since the voltages are very small they are amplified The crystal and its amplifier may be used as a simple microphone for converting sound signals into electrical signals Ultrasound waves may be generated using a piezo-electric crystal such as quartz, as it can convert electrical voltages to vibrations
55

Ultrasound
When a potential difference is applied between the electrodes of the crystal, an electric field is set up in the crystal which causes forces to act on the ions Quartz has a tetrahedral silicate structure with the oxygen ion negatively charged and the silicon ion positively charged, and as these ions are not held rigidly in position, they will be displaced slightly when an electric field is applied The positive ions will be attracted to the negative electrode, and the negative ions will be attracted to the positive electrode and depending on the direction of the electric field, the crystal will become slightly thinner or thicker An ac voltage applied across the electrodes will cause the crystal to vibrate with a frequency equal to that of the applied voltage with a small amplitude If the frequency of the applied voltage is equal to the natural frequency of vibration of the crystal, resonance will occur and the amplitude of vibration will be a maximum The dimensions of the crystal can be such that the oscillations are in the ultrasound region(> 20 kHz) and this will give rise to ultrasound waves in any medium surrounding the crystal In the medical field the ultrasound frequency is in the megahertz region 56 Human range of hearing is from 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz

The reflection and absorption of ultrasound

Ultrasound is typical of many types of waves in that , when it is incident on a boundary between 2 media, some of the wave power is reflected and some transmitted For a wave of incident intensity I, reflected intensity IR and transmitted intensity IT, by conservation of energy, I = IR + IT Although for a beam of constant intensity, the sum of the reflected and transmitted intensities is constant, their relative magnitudes depends not only on the angle of incidence of the beam on the boundary but also on the media themselves Hence the relative magnitudes of IR and IT are quantified by reference to the specific acoustic impedance, Z of each media The specific acoustic impedance Z is defined as the product of the density of the medium and the speed c of the wave in the medium i.e. Z = c For a wave incident normally on a boundary between 2 media having specific acoustic impedances of Z1 and Z2, the ratio of the reflected intensity IR to the incident intensity I known as the intensity reflection coefficient symbol i.e. intensity reflection coefficient = IR/I = (Z2-Z1)2/(Z2+Z1)2
57

The specific acoustic impedance Z is defined as the product of the density of the medium and the speed c of the wave in the medium i.e. Z = c
Material Density 3 r/kg m 1.3 1060 1075 1600 Speed of sound 1 c/m s 330 1570 1590 4000 Acoustic impedance 2 1 Z/kg m s

air blood muscle bone

58

Typical values of specific acoustic impedance and speed of ultrasound

Medium
Air Water Blood Fat Muscle Soft tissue Bone

Speed/m s-1 specific acoustic impedance/kg m-2 s-1

330 1500 1600 1500 1600 1600 4100 430 1.5 x 106 1.6 x 106 1.4 x 106 1.7 x 106 1.6 x 106 5.6 7.8 x 106

59

Example
Calculate the intensity reflection coefficient for a parallel beam of ultrasound incident normally on the boundary between: (1) air and soft tissue, specific acoustic impedances of 430 kg m-2 s-1 and 1.6 x 106 kg m-2 s-1 respectively (2) muscle and bone, specific acoustic impedance of 1.7 x 106 kg m-2 s-1 and 6.5 x 106 kg m-2 s-1 respectively

Solution Using = IR/I = (Z2-Z1)2/(Z2+Z1)2

(1) = 0.999 (2) = 0.34 almost 1!

60

Linear absorption coefficient

The intensity reflection coefficient for a boundary between air and soft tissue from the last example is almost unity which means that when ultrasound is incident on the body, very little ultrasound is transmitted into the body In order to overcome this, it is important that there is no air between the transducer and the soft tissue(skin) and this is achieved by using a water based jelly whose specific acoustic coefficient is approximately 1.5 x 106 kg m-2 s-1 Once the ultrasound is within the medium, the intensity of the wave is reduced by absorption of energy as it passes through the medium This causes heating and appropriate frequencies of ultrasound are actually used in physiotherapy to assist in sprains and similar injuries For a parallel beam, the absorption is approximately exponential and for a beam of ultrasound that is incident normally on a medium of thickness x, the transmitted intensity I is related to the incident intensity I0 by the expression I = I0 e-kx or I = I0 exp(-kx) where k is a constant depending on the medium known as the linear absorption coefficient. The unit is cm-1 The coefficient k depends not only on the medium but also the frequency of 61 the ultrasound

Typical values of linear absorption coefficient, k of ultrasound

Medium
Water Bone Muscle Air

Linear absorption coefficient/cm-1

0.0002 0.13 0.23 1.2

62

Example
A parallel beam of ultrasound is incident on the surface of a muscle and passes through a thickness of 3.5 cm of the muscle. It is then reflected at the surface of a bone and returns through the muscle to its surface. Calculate the fraction of the incident intensity that arrives back at the surface of the muscle given that the linear absorption coefficient for muscle is 0.23 cm-1 and the fraction reflected at bone-muscle interface is 0.34(from the last example) Solution The beam passes through a total thickness of 7.0 cm of muscle For the attenuation in the muscle, using I = I0 exp(-kx) = I0 exp(-0.23 x 7.0) = 0.20I0
Given that the fraction reflected at the bone-muscle interface i.e. is 0.34, therefore the fraction received back at surface = 0.34 x 0.20 = 0.068 = 1/15

63

Obtaining diagnostic information using ultrasound

The ultrasound transducer is placed on the skin with the water based jelly excluding any air between the transducer and the skin Short pulses of ultrasound are transmitted into the body where they are partly reflected and partly transmitted at the boundaries between media in the body The reflected pulses or echoes return to the transducer where they are detected and converted into voltage pulses which are amplified and processed by electronic circuits to be displayed on a screen or oscilloscope The time between the transmitted and reflected pulses gives information as to the distance of the boundary from the transducer The intensity of the reflected beam gives information as to the nature of the boundary 2 techniques are in common use for the display of an ultrasound scan:
A-scan B-scan
64

A-scan
A short pulse of ultrasound is transmitted into the body through the coupling medium At each boundary some of the energy of the pulse is transmitted and some is reflected The transducer(generator/detector) detects the reflected pulses as it now acts as a receiver The signal is amplified and displayed on a c.r.o. Reflected pulses received at the transducer from deeper in the body tend to have lower intensity than those reflected from boundaries near the skin This is due not only to the energy being absorbed by the various media but also on the return of the reflected pulse to the transducer, some of the energy of the pulse will again be reflected at intervening boundaries To allow for this, echoes received later at the transducer are amplified more than those received earlier A vertical line is observed on the c.r.o. corresponding to the detection of each reflected pulse The time-base of the c.r.o. is calibrated so that knowing the speed of the ultrasound wave in each medium, the distance between boundaries can be 65 determined

B-scan
This consists of a series of A-scans all taken from different angles so that a 2-D image can be formed The ultrasound probe consisting of a generator/detector, for a B-scan does not consist of a single crystal, but rather an array of smaller crystals each one at a different angle to its neighbours The separate signals received from each of the crystals in the probe is processed and a pattern of spots is built up to create a 2-D image for immediate viewing, photographing or to be stored in computer memory

66

Advantages of ultrasound scanning

Health risk to patient and operator is very much less compared to use of X-rays The equipment is much more portable and easy to use Using higher frequency ultrasound enables greater resolution to be obtained i.e. greater details to be seen Modern techniques allow for the detection of very low intensity reflected pulses, hence boundaries between tissues where there is little change in acoustic impedance can be detected

67

MRI
Magnetic resonance imaging

68

Proton spin
Many atomic nuclei have a property known as spin which causes the nuclei to behave as if they were small magnets Such nuclei have an odd number of protons and/or neutrons e.g. hydrogen, carbon, phosphorus The proton is not stationary but spins about an axis and the spinning acts like a tiny current loop which generates a magnetic field along the spin axis The spinning proton behaves like a spinning top When perfectly balanced, it spins about a vertical axis
69

Hydrogen atoms
The magnetic fields of hydrogen atoms are random if there is no external magnetic field around. Their individual fields tend to cancel out

70

Precession

When a proton is slightly displaced, it wobbles or precesses about the vertical axis. When a external magnetic field Bo is applied to these spinning proton nuclei, they tend to line up along the field but this alignment is not perfect and the nuclei rotate about the direction of the magnetic field due to their spin The alignment is either parallel or anti-parallel. Parallel alignment: lower energy states, E1 Anti-parallel alignment: higher energy state, E2 This motion can be modelled as the motion of a top spinning about the direction of a gravitational field and this rotation is known as precession The spinning about the direction of the magnetic field i.e. the precess about the external field has a frequency of precession known as the Larmor frequency which depends on the nature of the nucleus and the strength of the magnetic field which is the natural frequency of the precessing proton. The frequency is directly proportional to the external magnetic field strength, Bo and is given by f = 42.57 Bo for the hydrogen atom For large magnetic fields like 1 T or 2 T, f is of the order of 50 MHz, 71 which is in the radio frequency range.

Precession

72

Nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR) and magnetic resonance imaging(MRI)

If an external stimulus pulse of electromagnetic radiation of radio frequency of the same frequency as the Larmor frequency is incident on the precessing nuclei, the nuclei will resonate in phase with each other, absorbing energy and flipping to the higher energy state, E2. This frequency is in the radio-frequency(RF) band with a wavelength shorter than about 10 cm A short time after the incident pulse has ended, the nuclei will return to their equilibrium state, emitting RF radiation This short time between the end of the RF pulse and the re-emitting of the radiation is known as the relaxation time This entire process of precessing and resonating in phase and emitting RF radiation is known as nuclear magnetic resonance In practice, there are 2 relaxation processes and it is the time between these 2 that forms the basis of magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) Since hydrogen is abundant in body tissues and fluids, hydrogen is the atom used in MRI and MRI monitors the concentration of hydrogen nuclei in the body

73

RF stimulus and MRI signal

A small resultant longitudinal magnetic field ML is developed by the protons, parallel to Bo. This cannot be measured since it parallel to the large external magnetic field Bo Before receiving the RF pulse, there in no resultant transverse magnetic field MT as the protons precess out of phase with each other. (cancel out) However, a RF pulse will force them to precess in phase with each other. This produces a resultant transverse magnetic field MT which precesses about the main spinning axis at the same Larmor frequency as the protons. This a signal that can be measured. According to EM induction law, a changing magnetic field induces an e.m.f in the conductor. The resultant MT precessing at 90o to the external magnetic field can induce a small e.m.f. (microvolts) in a detector coil positioned outside the patient. This forms the MRI signal, the alternating voltage pulse having the same frequency (the Larmor frequency) as the RF pulse detected. Hence, all hydrogen atoms in body act as emitters of RF pulses

74

75

76

Principal of the MRI scanner

The patient is positioned in the scanner between the poles of a large magnet that produces a very large uniform magnetic field in excess of 1 Tesla This magnetic field causes all the hydrogen nuclei within the person to precess with the same Larmor frequency In order that the hydrogen nuclei in only one small part of the body may be detected, a non-uniform magnetic field is also applied across the patient This non-uniform field is accurately calibrated and results in a different magnitude of magnetic field strength at each point in the body of the patient Since the Larmor frequency is dependent on the strength of the magnetic field, the Larmor frequency will also be different in each part of the patient The particular value of the magnetic field strength together with the radiofrequency that is emitted, enables the hydrogen nuclei in the part under investigation to be located Radio-frequency pulses are produced in coils near the patient which pass into the patient The emitted pulses produced as a result of de-excitation of the hydrogen nuclei are picked up by the coils These signals are processed to construct an image of the number density of hydrogen atoms in the patient i.e. concentration of hydrogen nuclei As the non-uniform magnetic field is changed, atoms in different parts of the 77 patients body are detected and displayed as a 3-D image

Schematic of a MRI scanner

78

MRI scanner

79

80

Slice selection
Larmor frequency is proportional to Bo. If a slightly different Bo is applied to different sections of the body, each section will have its own individual Larmor frequency f. Hence, if a pulse of specific RF frequency is sent to the body, only those protons having exactly the same precession frequency f will resonate. Protons in neighbouring slices will be relatively unaffected The variation in the value of external field applied is achieved by using a gradient field coil. Btotal = Bo + B
(fixed) (spatially varying)

81

MRI Image
Rf signals from the body are used to build up an image. Their origins are located using three perpendicular gradient fields. The signal strength depends on:
(i) Proton density (hydrogen concentration) (ii) tissue type (structure and surroundings) (iii) pulse sequence (iv) relaxation

82

Resolution
Resolution can be improved using
(a) large and uniform main magnetic field B (b) Large gradient fields (c) Small receiver coils close to the body

83

Advantages/disadvantages of MRI
Advantages
Safe since no ionising radiations are used Any selected plane and orientation can be imaged Excellent soft tissue contrast, no contrast agent needed Versatile since image varies with many parameters Body function and chemistry investigated besides structure

Disadvantages
High capital and running costs Image selection and interpretration is complex Examination can be claustrophobic, noisy and long Hazards with implants, (pacemaker) Practical problems associated with large superconducting magnets. Takes time For children it may not be possible as the patient has to be very still

84

85

86