CLINICAL APPLICATION OF MRI IMAGE PROCESSING IN

NEUROLOGY

By
K.KRISHNA REDDY(05471A0429)
CH.ANAND RAJU(05471A0401)
ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT
E-MAIL : [email protected], [email protected]
Phone no:9985077049 phone no:

NARASARAOPETA ENGINEERING COLLEGE

NARASARAOPET
Abstract:

The development of new computer based medical imaging methods have made
the extremely rapid progress in both basic and clinical neurosciences possible.
Among the new techniques MRI has made quantum leaps during the eightees and
ninetees and has the greatest promise for future development especially when
combined by fusion with other techniques to make the multimodal imaging and
mapping of both the structure and function of the brain possible. In the following
overview only a few of these developments can be partially covered. In order to
understand the real influence of these technical advances several recent
textbooks and thousands of individual articles plus abstracts should be
summarized. Therefore also the prediction of the future progress of the most
promising avenues to find new and relevant information is made impossible. A
clinician can only present some ideas of the existing needs. MRI is also best
suited for cases when a patient is to undergo the exam several times
successively in the short term, because, unlike CT, it does not expose the patient
to the hazards of ionizing radiation .MRI traditionally creates a 2D image of a thin
"slice" of the body and is therefore considered a tomographic imaging technique.
Modern MRI instruments are capable of producing images in the form of 3D
blocks, which may be considered a generalisation of the single-slice,
tomographic, concept. Based on our initial investigations, these future directions
include neurosurgical planning and improved assessment of risk for individual
patients, improved assessment and strategies for the treatment of chronic pain,
improved seizure localization.

Introduction:

A Magnetic Resonance Imaging instrument (MRIscanner) uses powerful magnets to

polarise and excite hydrozen nuclei (single proton) in water molecules in human tissue,
producing a detectable signal which is spatially encoded resulting in images of the body.
In brief, MRI involves the use of three kinds of electromangenetic field: a very strong (of
the order of units of teslas) static magnetic field to polarize the hydrogen nuclei, called
the static field; a weaker time-varying (of the order of 1 kHz) for spatial encoding, called
the gradient field(s); and a weak radio-frequency (RF) field for manipulation of the
hydrogen nuclei to produce measurable signals, collected through an RF antenna. Like
CT, MRI traditionally creates a 2D image of a thin "slice" of the body and is therefore
considered a tomographic imaging technique. Modern MRI instruments are capable of
producing images in the form of 3D blocks, which may be considered a generalisation of
the single-slice, tomographic, concept.
Modern 3 tesla clinical MRI scanner.

MRI vs CT :

• CT may be enhanced by use of contrast agents containing elements of a higher

atomic number than the surrounding flesh such as iodine or barium. Contrast
agents for MRI are those which have paramagnetic properties. One example is
gadolinium.
• For purposes of tumor detection and identification, MRI is generally superior.
However, CT usually is more widely available, faster, much less expensive, and
may be less likely to require the person to be sedated or anesthetized.
• MRI is also best suited for cases when a patient is to undergo the exam several
times successively in the short term, because, unlike CT, it does not expose the
patient to the hazards of ionizing radiation

Basic Principles of MRI:

The basis of MRI is the directional magnetic field, or moment, associated with charged
particles in motion. Nuclei containing an odd number of protons and/or neutrons have a
characteristic motion or precession. Because nuclei are charged particles, this
precession produces a small magnetic moment. When a human body is placed in a
large magnetic field, many of the free hydrogen nuclei align themselves with the
direction of the magnetic field. The nuclei precess about the magnetic field direction like
gyroscopes. This behavior is termed Larmor precession. The frequency of Larmor
precession is proportional to the applied magnetic field strength as defined by the
Larmor frequency, The frequency of Larmor precession is proportional to the applied
magnetic field strength as defined by the Larmor frequency,

where is the gyromagnetic ratio and is the strength of the applied magnetic field. The
gyromagnetic ratio is a nuclei specific constant. For hydrogen, . To
obtain an MR image of an object, the object is placed in a uniform magnetic field, , of
between 0.5 to 1.5 Tesla. As a result, the object's hydrogen nuclei align with the
magnetic field and create a net magnetic moment, , parallel to . This behavior is
illustrated in Figure 2.1.

Figure 2.1: In the absence of a strong magnetic field, hydrogen nuclei are randomly
aligned as in (a). When the strong magnetic field, , is applied, the hydrogen nuclei
precess about the direction of the field as in (b).

Next, a radio-frequency (RF) pulse, , is applied perpendicular to . This pulse, with

a frequency equal to the Larmor frequency, causes to tilt away from as in Figure
2.2a.

Figure 2.2: (a) The RF pulse, , causes the net magnetic moment of the nuclei, , to
tilt away from . (b) When the RF pulse stops, the nuclei return to equilibrium such that
is again parallel to . During realignment, the nuclei lose energy and a measurable
RF signal

Once the RF signal is removed, the nuclei realign themselves such that their net
magnetic moment, , is again parallel with . This return to equilibrium is referred to
as relaxation. During relaxation, the nuclei lose energy by emitting their own RF signal
(see Figure 2.2b). This signal is referred to as the free-induction decay (FID) response
signal. The FID response signal is measured by a conductive field coil placed around
the object being imaged. This measurement is processed or reconstructed to obtain 3D
grey-scale MR images. To produce a 3D image, the FID resonance signal must be
encoded for each dimension. The encoding in the axial direction, the direction of , is
accomplished by adding a gradient magnetic field to . This gradient causes the
Larmor frequency to change linearly in the axial direction. Thus, an axial slice can be
selected by choosing the frequency of to correspond to the Larmor frequency of that
slice. The 2D spatial reconstruction in each axial slice is accomplished using frequency
and phase encoding. A ``preparation'' gradient, , is applied causing the resonant
frequencies of the nuclei to vary according to their position in the -direction. is then
removed and another gradient, , is applied perpendicular to . As a result, the
resonant frequencies of the nuclei vary in the -direction due to and have a phase
variation in the -direction due to the previously applied . Thus, -direction samples
are encoded by frequency and -direction samples are encoded by phase. A 2D Fourier
Transform is then used to transform the encoded image to the spatial domain.

. MR image contrast also depends on two other tissue-specific parameters:

1. The longitudinal relaxation time, ,

2. the transverse relaxation time, .

measures the time required for the magnetic moment of the displaced nuclei to return
to equilibrium (ie. realign itself with ). indicates the time required for the FID
response signal from a given tissue type to decay. When MR images are acquired, the
RF pulse, , is repeated at a predetermined rate. The period of the RF pulse
sequence is the repetition time, . The FID response signals can be measured at
various times within the interval. The time between which the RF pulse is applied
and the response signal is measured is the echo delay time

Imaging:

Slice selection is achieved by applying a magnetic gradient in addition to the external

magnetic field during the radio frequency pulse. Only one plane within the object will
have protons that are on–resonance and contribute to the signal.A real image can be
considered as being composed of a number of spatial frequencies at different
orientations. A two–dimensional Fourier transformation of a real image will express
these waves as a matrix of spatial frequencies known as k–space. Low spatial
frequencies are represented at the center of k–space and high spatial frequencies at the
periphery. Frequency and phase encoding are used to measure the amplitudes of a
range of spatial frequencies within the object being imaged . . By adjusting and
the acquired MR image can be made to contrast different tissue types.

The k-space formalism:

The k-space formalism also makes it very easy to compare different scanning
techniques. In single-shot EPI, all of k-space is scanned in a single shot, following either
a sinusoidal or zig-zag trajectory. Since alternating lines of k-space are scanned in
opposite directions, this must be taken into account in the reconstruction. Multi-shot EPI
and fast spin echo techniques acquire only part of k-space per excitation. In each shot,
a different interleaved segment is acquired, and the shots are repeated until k-space is
sufficiently well-covered. Since the data at the center of k-space represent lower spatial
frequencies than the data at the edges of k-space, the TE value for the center of k-space
determines the image's T2 contrast.The importance of the center of k-space in
determining image contrast can be exploited in more advanced imaging techniques.
One such technique is spiral acquisition - a rotating magnetic field gradient is applied,
causing the trajectory in k-space to trace out spiral out from the center to the edge. Due
to T2 and T2 * decay the signal is greatest at the start of the acquisition, hence acquiring
the center of k-space first improves contrast to noise ratio (CNR) when compared to
conventional zig-zag acquisitions, especially in the presence of rapid movement.Since
and are conjugate variables (with respect to the Fourier transform) we can use the
Nyquist theorem to show that the step in k-space determines the field of view of the
image (maximum frequency that is correctly sampled) and the maximum value of k
sampled determines the resolution i.e.

The conjugate symmetry of k-space .k-space is a formalism widely used in magnetic

resonance imaging independently introduced in 1983 by Ljunggren[1] and Twieg[2].

Simply speaking, k-space is the temporary image space in which data from digitized MR
signals are stored during data acquisition. When k-space is full (at the end of the scan),
the data are mathematically processed to produce a final image. Thus k-space holds
raw data before reconstruction.

Spatial frequency:

. The spatial frequency is a measure of how often the structure repeats per unit of
distance. The SI unit of spatial frequency is cycles per meter. In image processing
applications, the spatial frequency often is measured as lines per millimeter, which is
1000 times smaller than the SI unit.In wave mechanics, the spatial frequency is related
to the wavelength by
Visual perception:
In the study of visual perception, sinusoidal gratings are frequently used to probe the
capabilities of the visual system. In these stimuli, spatial frequency is expressed as the

Number of cycles per degree of visual angle The MR images used in this thesis were all
acquired using a Multiple Echo Spin Echo pulse sequence in which two images are
acquired simultaneously

Figure 2.3 shows 2D slices from the weighted MRI volumes.

Clinical Application of MRI Image processing in Neurology

It is imposssible to describe all the clinical applications of the abovementioned

techniques in thiscontext. One can only refer to a number of textbooks; e.g. Osborn
NA1994, Gonzalez et al. 1985,Taveras, J.M. Neuroradiology (third ed.) 1996, Bradley
WG Jr and Bydder, GM 1997.In general the first clinical applications were mainlyfinding
of space occupying lesions (expanses andtumors in brain, as well as
braininfarcts,intracerebral and other intracranial haemorrhages ).MRI is much
moresensitive than CT to be used in the analysis analysis of tissue pathology;
inevaluation of degenerative and atrophic processes (ventricular and
sulcarenlargementand corticalatrophy ). White matter plaques in multiple
sclerosis,diffuse ischemia and infarction, haemorrhages,differential diagnosis of
tumors,developmental anomalies and congenital malformations.In addition to the
structural changes in brain due to normal aging especially in dementias MRI
hasbecomean important auxiliary diagnostic tool

Figure 1. In vascular dementias ischemic changes aswell as

leucoaraiosis in periventricular white .More recently such dementia entities asfrontal
lobe dementia and Lewy body dementia have been added among the differential
diagnostics based partially on MRI. In Huntington´s disease patterns of hypometabolic
activity are found inthebasal ganglia of both the patients and their relatives in risk. FMRI
can in near futurebe used in thediagnosis of Parkinson´s disease and other
extrapyramidal disorders. Recent findings of structural changes seen in MRI in
schizophrenia are giving new lighttothe possible underlying pathology andprobable early
developmental lesions in this disease.

3.2 Application of fMRI in Clinical Neurolog

fMRI trechniques are noninvasive, multiple, longitudinal. When compared with other
functional brainimaging techniques (EEG, PET, magnetic source imaging and near
infrared spectroscopic imaging,fMRI has good temporal resolution and excellent spatial
resolution. Therefore it has become a new andvery powerful research tool (Karni, A. et
al. 1995) and has started to show considerable clinical benefitwhile studying the
underlying pathology in different brain diseases. In future it may also be used tofollow
up the recovery of the brain lesions and be used to help in restorative neurology for
highercognitive functions.In most fMRI studies, image sets are acquired while the
patient is alternatively in an active and controlstate. While changes in cerebral blood
flow and its oxygenation degree are measured. In the near futurethese types of
techniques can also be applied to study the possible regional pathological changes
relatedto CBF. In this connectiion fMRI has to be compared with diffusion imaging EPI
techniques
3.3. Clinical Applications of Volumetric image Analysis in Neurology

Despite of the still existing difficulties in practical application of volumetry these

techniques havealready been set widely to study such degenerative diseases of the
brain as Alzheimer-type dementia(Erkinjuntti et al. 1993, Devernoy 1998). Brain tumors
(Velthuizen et al.1995), brain infarcts(Heinonen et al.1998) and intracerebral
hematomas (Dastidar et al.1997) aswellas MS plaques(Dastidar et al.1999).In the near
future 3D visualization will become a valuable tool for this type of applications in
clinicalneurology and planning of stereotactic neurosurgery

Conclusion:
The goal of this presentation was to introduce the basics of MRI and to suggest
potential future applications in neuro-oncology. Based on our initial investigations, these
future directions include neurosurgical planning and improved assessment of risk for
individual patients, improved assessment and strategies for the treatment of chronic
pain, improved seizure localization, and improved understanding of the physiology
ofneurological disorders. We look aheatotheseandotheremergingapplications as the
benefits of this technology becomeincorporated into current and future patient care.

References:

1. Bradley W.G.Jr. and Bydder G.M., Advanced MR Imaging techniques. Martin

Dunitz LTD, London. 1997.

2. Heinonen T., Visala K., Blomqvist M., Eskola H. and Frey H.: 3Dvisualization library
for
multimodal images. Comp.Med.Imaging and Graphics.22.267-273.1998.

3. www.google.com

4. www.wikipedia.com