During
MRI
testing
,
the
patient
sits
inside
a
surrounded
by
a
field
.
Some
mechanisms
happen
between
the
MRI
machine
and
the
patient's
body
causing
(
radio
-
frequency
)
signals
to
be
released
from
the
patient's
body
.
The
MRI
machine
captures
these
signals
,
producing
an
MRI
image
.
Chemists
have
been
using
a
technique
called
spectroscopy
(
nuclear
magnetic
resonance
spectroscopy
)
since
the
1950's
to
figure
out
the
chemical
composition
of
substances
.
In
NMR
spectroscopy
,
first
a
sample
tube
containing
the
substance
is
subjected
to
a
strong
field
.
Then
,
an
RF
transmitter
sends
a
signal
called
an
RF
pulse
into
the
sample
.
The
same
RF
transmitter
is
used
to
detect
signals
from
the
sample
afterwards
.
These
signals
are
called
decaying
electromagnetic
signals
(
signals
that
decrease
in
with
time
)
.
In
NMR
,
we
are
interested
in
how
strong
these
signals
are
at
different
magnetic
field
strengths
to
detect
the
presence
of
specific
chemical
groups
.
In
MRI
,
we
are
interested
in
how
fast
the
signals
that
belong
to
hydrogen
atoms
decay
(
called
T1
and
T2
)
to
detect
local
tissue
properties
.
Nuclear
Magnetic
Resonance
(
NMR
)
gets
its
name
because
it
is
associated
with
the
nucleus
of
atoms
.
MRI
is
an
imaging
technique
that
is
based
on
the
principles
of
and
relies
on
the
body's
natural
magnetic
properties
to
produce
images
.
Normally
,
hydrogen
spin
on
their
axes
in
random
directions
,
however
when
the
body
is
subjected
to
a
magnetic
field
,
the
protons'
axes
will
either
align
with
the
field
or
themselves
against
the
field
.
Protons
align
in
two
different
directions
because
of
their
different
energy
states
.
Protons
that
align
with
the
field
are
in
a
lower
energy
state
and
protons
that
align
against
the
field
are
in
a
higher
energy
state
.
There
are
usually
a
few
more
protons
that
align
with
the
field
than
protons
that
align
against
the
field
.
These
are
the
protons
used
for
producing
an
image
.
Once
the
magnetic
field
is
applied
,
the
MRI
technician
would
use
the
RF
placed
near
the
body
part
being
scanned
to
send
RF
.
The
extra
protons
mentioned
earlier
will
absorb
the
energy
of
these
pulses
and
that
will
cause
them
to
flip
on
their
,
so
they
will
become
aligned
the
magnetic
field
.
So
,
essentially
these
protons
have
moved
to
the
energy
state
.
When
the
RF
pulses
stop
,
these
protons
release
the
energy
they
absorbed
and
return
to
their
previous
alignments
and
lower
energy
states
.
In
doing
so
,
they
emit
a
signal
back
to
the
RF
coil
,
which
gets
turned
into
an
electric
that
gets
digitized
by
the
scanner
.
That
is
how
an
image
is
produced
using
an
MRI
machine
.
It
should
be
noted
however
that
different
shades
of
can
be
seen
in
MRI
images
.
This
is
due
to
the
varying
signal
strengths
.
The
stronger
the
signal
back
to
the
coil
,
the
lighter
the
shade
will
be
.
The
strength
of
a
signal
corresponds
to
the
number
of
present
in
the
body
part
.
The
more
protons
,
the
stronger
the
signal
will
be
.