RAD4503: Physical Foundations of Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technical Report

Background

In the field of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a range of magnetic field strength of scanner is available. A modern typical MRI scanner has a magnetic field strength of 1.5 or 3 Tesla (T). Recently,ultra-high field MRI scanners e.g. 7T scanners have gained popularity in both research and clinical settings. At the same time, there has been renewed interest in low-field MRI scanners, with some already having received approval by the Food and Drug Administration of the United States. The focus of the current technical report will be on low-field MRI scanners and their applications.

The learning outcomes for this task are:
o to justify the physical design and operational requirements for a typical clinical MRI system o to explain the imaging parameters that define the contrast sensitivity in MRI 6 to justify the reasons for precautions that are taken in MRI to ensure staff and patient safety

Relationships with other learning activities
o This task is linked to the materials discussed in lectures, tutorials, Moodle contents and readings of Weeks 1to 5.
o What you learn and prepare in this task will lay a good foundation for Assessment Task 2.

Task requirements
Prepare a report evaluating the role and potentials of low-field MRI scanners in the medical imaging and practices.

Procedure
In order to successfully complete this task, you should:
a) Review lectures, tutorial contents, Moodle book and reading list relating to MRI
b) Explore academic literature using the library databases (e.g. Scopus, ScienceDirect, PubMed, etc). Use references in your course materials as a starting point for relevant keywords,journals, authors and articles. You may also need to explore resources such as handbooks from MRI manufacturers. It may be a good idea to start from a review article on low-field MRI scanners.
c) As you read, prepare your own notes (in your own words) on the following.
i. The structures and function of MRI scanners (standard and low-field)
ii. The uses of MRI scanners (standard and low-field)
iii. Safety issues related to the standard and low-field MRI scanners
iv. Benefits and limitations of each type of scanner
v. Examples of low-field MRI scanners currently in use, and how they are being used in clinical and research settings
vi. Considerations about how the technology is likely to progress and can be used in the future.
vii. MRI images, figures and diagrams to incorporate into your report, or develop your own diagrams on. Remember that you will need to cite the sources for any content
you use, including images.

d) Research additional sources if required to improve your understanding or help substantiate your findings.

e) Write your own brief, evidence-informed (~150 words or less) answer to the question, “What are the role and potentials of lower-field MRI scanners in the healthcare and medical research?” that concisely incorporates your answers to each of the points i) to vi) in part c) above. If you can do this, you are ready to prepare your report. If not, you should identify where you need further information and do some more research and reading.

f) Determine the structure for your report, using your answer to part e) above as a guide to your structure.

g) Draft each section of your report, starting with the areas you feel most confident about.

h) When you have a complete first draft, take a break, and then review it. Look for areas of repetition, gaps, over reliance on jargon or terminology, or contradictions, or any places
where you think you may have relied too heavily on the original sources of information. You want your final report to flow smoothly from the opening sentence to the end of the
conclusion, and to be reflective of your skills and understanding of this topic.

i) When you are happy with your content, check for grammatical and typographical errors, as well as ensuring your citations and references are formatted correctly and consistently.

j) Save your final draft and upload to Moodle. Make sure your Turnitin score is below 15%.

Other information

Given that we have only just started looking at MRI technology, don’t be put off if you are not familiar with all the terminology you come across. You don’t have to understand every technical term.If you find terms that are appearing regularly, you can try to look them up yourself, post on the discussion forum, or bring them to a tutorial or lecture where we can discuss them. You are not expected to be an expert on every technique and technology in use but just to demonstrate a working understanding of the MRI.

‘Word count/time allocation

2000 words + 10%

As indicated in Assessment Word Count Business Process of the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, there will be no explicit deductions for deviations from the word count. However, assignment reports with word count below 10% of the limit are likely to lose marks related to content, style and/or organisation. Any contents beyond that limit i.e. beyond 2200 words will not contribute to additional marks.

This task is worth 35% of your overall mark for the unit, and should therefore take up 35% of the time allocated to your study for the unit (including your participation in relevant lectures and tutorials,researching additional information, and drafting your ideas).

For a 6-credit-point unit, the time allowance for the semester is 10-12 hours/week, for 12 weeks, or 144 hours of study in total. You should therefore expect to spend approximately 42-50 hours on this assessment task.

This time includes:

• Participating in lectures
• Reviewing lectures, tutorials, Moodle book and reading list content
• Finding, evaluating and reading additional sources to develop your understanding of the topic.
• Preparing drafts of your report
• Revising your final report