Basic Working Principle of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

Basic Working Principle of MRI

This information is not meant for those of you who haven't still forgotten your high school chemistry and biology. It is a well known fact that 70 % of human body is made up of water, made up of two integral components - Hydrogen and Oxygen.

Remember those good old times when you were fascinated by tiny magnet pieces attracting pins, coins and other metal objects? May be you would be surprised to know that there are these tiny little magnets inside your body as well. Yes! The hydrogen atoms in our body behave just the same way and the MRI diagnostic procedure makes use of these hydrogen atoms in the body, which are so abundant.

So, it would not be wrong to say that all of us have magnetic powers. When a human body such as this is placed in between two large magnets, these tiny magnets now obey the large one and change their orientation with respect to the magnetic field just like how small children obey their PT master in school.

This change in position of the hydrogen atoms in the body picked up by sensitive devices and converted into digital images with the help of a computer.