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 isavailable. 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 clinicalsettings. At the same time, there has been renewed interest in low-field MRI scanners, with somealready having received approval by the Food and Drug Administration of the United States. Thefocus 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 systemo to explain the imaging parameters that define the contrast sensitivity in MRI6 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 andreadings 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 imagingand 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 handbooksfrom MRI manufacturers. It may be a good idea to start from a review article on low-fieldMRI 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 inclinical and research settings
vi. Considerations about how the technology is likely to progress and can be used in thefuture.
vii. MRI images, figures and diagrams to incorporate into your report, or develop yourown 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 substantiateyour findings.

e) Write your own brief, evidence-informed (~150 words or less) answer to the question, Whatare the role and potentials of lower-field MRI scanners in the healthcare and medicalresearch? 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 identifywhere 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 yourstructure.

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 ofrepetition, 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. Youwant 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, aswell 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, dont be put off if you are notfamiliar with all the terminology you come across. You dont have to understand every technical term.If you find terms that are appearing regularly, you can try to look them up yourself, post on thediscussion forum, or bring them to a tutorial or lecture where we can discuss them. You are notexpected to be an expert on every technique and technology in use but just to demonstrate a workingunderstanding of the MRI.

Word count/time allocation

2000 words + 10%

As indicated in Assessment Word Count Business Process of the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing andHealth Sciences, Monash University, there will be no explicit deductions for deviations from the wordcount. However, assignment reports with word count below 10% of the limit are likely to lose marksrelated to content, style and/or organisation. Any contents beyond that limit i.e. beyond 2200 wordswill 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 timeallocated 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, or144 hours of study in total. You should therefore expect to spend approximately 42-50 hours on thisassessment 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