Search

The ability to perform magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in ultra-low magnetic fields (ULF) of ∼100 μT, using superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) detection, has enabled a new class of magnetoencephalography (MEG) instrumentation capable of recording both anatomical (via the ULF MRI) and functional (biomagnetic) information about the brain. The combined ULF MRI/MEG instrument allows both structural and functional information to be co-registered to a single coordinate system and acquired in a single device. In this paper we discuss the considerations and challenges required to develop a combined ULF MRI/MEG device, including pulse sequence development, magnetic field generation, SQUID operation in an environment of pulsed pre-polarization, and optimization of pick-up coil geometries for MRI in different noise environments. We also discuss the design of a “hybrid” ULF MRI/MEG system under development in our laboratory that uses SQUID pick-up coils separately optimized for MEG and ULF MRI.

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) methods are widely used in medicine, chemistry and industry. Over the past several years there has been increasing interest in performing NMR and MRI in the ultra-low field (ULF) regime, with measurement field strengths of 10-100 microTesla and pre-polarization fields of 30-50 mTesla. The real-time signal-to-noise ratio for such measurements is about 100. Our group at LANL has built and demonstrated the performance of SQUID-based ULF NMR/MRI instrumentation for classification of materials and detection of liquid explosives via their relaxation properties measured at ULF, using T1, T2, and T1 frequency dispersion. We are also beginning to investigate the performance of induction coils as sensors. Here we present recent progress on the applications of ULF MR to the detection of liquid explosives, in imaging and relaxometry.

Recently it has become both possible and practical to perform MR at magnetic fields from muT to mT, the so-called ultra-low field (ULF) regime. SQUID sensor technology allows for ultra-sensitive detection while pulsed pre-polarizing fields greatly enhance signal. The instrumentation allows for unprecedented flexibility in signal acquisition sequences. Here we present the results from several applications of ULF MR which exploit the unique abilities of the method. These include novel ways to image both brain structure and function either by combination of MRI with magnetoencephalography or direct observation of the interaction of neural currents with the spin population, and ULF relaxometry for detection and characterization of materials relevant to numerous non-invasive inspection applications. We briefly describe the motivation, advantages, and recent results of several new applications of the ULF MR method. Specifically, we present recent data measuring the interaction of weak ( ~ 10 muA) currents with a spin-population in a water phantom, as studied by ULF MRI with implications for neural current imaging. We also present data from a ULF MR relaxometer developed inspecting liquids in a check-point for the presence of hazardous material.

Magnetic resonance imaging at ultra-low fields (ULF MRI) is a promising new imaging method that uses SQUID sensors to measure the spatially encoded precession of pre-polarized nuclear spin populations at a microtesla-range measurement field. In this work, a seven-channel SQUID system designed for simultaneous 3D ULF MRI and magnetoencephalography (MEG) is described. The system includes seven second-order SQUID gradiometers, characterized by magnetic field resolutions of 1.2 - 2.8 fT/rtHz. It is also equipped with five sets of coils for 3D Fourier imaging with pre-polarization. Essential technical details of the design are discussed. The system's ULF MRI performance is demonstrated by multi-channel 3D images of a preserved sheep brain acquired at 46 microtesla measurement field with pre-polarization at 40 mT. The imaging resolution is 2.5 mm x 2.5 mm x 5 mm. The ULF MRI images are compared to images of the same brain acquired using conventional high-field MRI. Different ways to improve imaging SNR are discussed., To appear in Proceedings of 11th International Superconductive Electronics Conference (ISEC 2007); 8 pages, 11 figures

Modern high field (HF) MRI uses magnetic fields greater than 1.5 T to yield exquisite anatomical features. We have also seen an explosion in functional MRI in the last decade that measures hemodynamic responses that are ultimately sluggish (~one sec) and only indirectly related to electrophysiological processes. Magnetoencephalography (MEG) is a direct measure of the external fields generated by neuronal currents with exquisite temporal information (less than one msec). Spatial localization, however, is inferred from modeling priors, making MEG ldquoimagingrdquo only indirect at best. Ultra low field (ULF) MRI has recently been demonstrated with 2-3 mm resolution using fields in the microtesla regime. While the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) signal at ULF is dramatically weaker than at HF, we acquired high signal-to-noise measurements for a variety of samples at ULF using SQUID technology. Several researchers have proposed that electrophysiological activity may interact with the nuclear spins in a volume of interest, causing measurable variations in the NMR signal. We have developed a new approach to directly measuring neuronal activity with SQUID-based ULF-NMR techniques based on the hypothesis that interactions between the spin population and neural activity in cortex can be dominated by resonant mechanisms unique to ULF. We have experimentally demonstrated the feasibility of this approach via ULF-NMR using a single-channel SQUID system.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is the best method for non-invasive imaging of soft tissue anatomy. A conventional MRI relies on 1.5-3 T fixed strength magnetic fields, with parts-per-million homogeneity, requiring large and expensive magnets. MRI can be done at ultra-low magnetic fields (ULF) with Larmor frequencies of a few kHz with much more modest magnetic system requirements. However the ULF regime requires a very sensitive detection system. A candidate detection system is based on SQUID gradiometers. A conventional SQUID gradiometer based detection system requires effective shielding from all ambient electromagnetic noise. Large shielded structures, such as magnetically shielded or eddy-current rooms, can be used for proof-of-principles experiments but do not lead to practical deployable instruments. Our goal is to develop a technique in which a SQUID-based detector array could be deployed without the limitation imposed by the requirement for a shielded structure. We have tested a 7-channel ULF MRI system located in unshielded environment inside a modern physics laboratory. It was possible to significantly suppress most of the electromagnetic interference by subtracting the signal from a one-channel reference magnetometer located nearby. We believe that the influence of the pre-polarization coil produces kHz-range frequency noise in gradiometer channels that is very well correlated with the signal from the magnetometer.

To contain high-pressure gases inside a pressure vessel a seal is often made in a thin-walled tube, known as the stem tube, that connects the gas reservoir and the vessel. This seal can be achieved through the use of a resistance pinch weld that forms with only a limited amount of melting occurring. The lack of melting makes applying traditional post-weld nondestructive evaluation (NDE) techniques extremely difficult. The welds of interest here are made from 304L stainless steel (typically 3.8 mm diameter and 38 mm long) and have a non-uniform geometry that does not inherently lend itself to either eddy current or static field SQUID-based measurement techniques. We perform these NDE measurements with both the sample and the SQUID located inside local electromagnetic shielding. SQUID data are presented as individual time series traces for a set of welds that were fabricated using a broad range of fabrication parameters, and a comparison is made between the SQUID-based results and the known parameters. With the limited spatial resolution offered by our present SQUID system, it is not clear if weld quality can be evaluated from purely SQUID-based results.

Field Forensics, Inc. (FFI) has built a bottled liquids scanner utilizing ultra–low field NMR relaxometry. This device, called MagViz, is based upon a prototype developed at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) (Espy et al. Appl Supercond IEEE Trans 21(3):530, 2011; Espy et al. Supercond Sci Technol 23:034023. doi:10.1088/0953-2048/23/3/034023, 2010) [1, 2]. Despite using conventional Faraday detection coils in lieu of SQUIDs, MagViz, has demonstrated sufficient sensitivity to identify a number of threat liquids of interest to the Department of Homeland Security (Matlashov et al. Appl Supercond IEEE Trans 21(3):465–468, 2011) [3]. By accurate measurement of T1 and T2, liquids contained in opaque bottles and even non-ferromagnetic metal containers can be reliably identified. Protons are aligned using a 50 mT pre-polarizing field. T1 is determined in the pre-polarizing field, and T2 relaxation time is typically measured at 2,048 Hz in a 48 μT field. The coil assembly is contained within a table-top 0.79 m tall magnetically shielded enclosure. Although primarily intended for commercial and security applications, MagViz, works at Larmor frequencies that correspond to timescales that are characteristic of a host of interesting, slow, molecular dynamic processes like diffusion and intramolecular motion as well as biological processes such as protein folding, catalysis, and ligand binding and could conceivably serve as a COTS research instrument for fundamental studies in these areas.

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are ubiquitous tools in science and medicine. NMR provides powerful probes of local and macromolecular chemical structure and dynamics. Recently it has become possible and practical to perform MR at very low fields (from 1 μT to 1 mT), the so-called ultra-low field (ULF) regime. Pulsed pre-polarizing fields greatly enhance the signal strength and allow flexibility in signal acquisition sequences. Improvements in SQUID sensor technology allow ultra-sensitive detection in a pulsed field environment.In this regime the proton Larmor frequencies (1 Hz - 100 kHz) of ULF MR overlap (on a time scale of 10 μs to 100 ms) with "slow" molecular dynamic processes such as diffusion, intra-molecular motion, chemical reactions, and biological processes such as protein folding, catalysis and ligand binding. The frequency dependence of relaxation at ultra-low fields may provide a probe for biomolecular dynamics on the millisecond timescale (protein folding and aggregation, conformational motions of enzymes, binding and structural fluctuations of coupled domains in allosteric mechanisms) relevant to host-pathogen interactions, biofuels, and biomediation. Also this resonance-enhanced coupling at ULF can greatly enhance contrast in medical applications of ULF-MRI resulting in better diagnostic techniques.We have developed a number of instruments and techniques to study relaxation vs. frequency at the ULF regime. Details of the techniques and results are presented.Ultra-low field methods are already being applied at LANL in brain imaging, and detection of liquid explosives at airports. However, the potential power of ultra-low field MR remains to be fully exploited.

Magnetoencephalography (MEG) and magnetic resonance imaging at ultra-low fields (ULF MRI) are two methods based on the ability of SQUID (superconducting quantum interference device) sensors to detect femtotesla magnetic fields. Combination of these methods will allow simultaneous functional (MEG) and structural (ULF MRI) imaging of the human brain. In this paper, we report the first implementation of a multi-sensor SQUID system designed for both MEG and ULF MRI. We present a multi-channel image of a human hand obtained at 46 microtesla field, as well as results of auditory MEG measurements with the new system., To appear in Proceedings of 15th International Conference on Biomagnetism

A seven-channel system capable of performing both magnetoencephalography (MEG) and ultra-low-field magnetic resonance imaging (ULF MRI) is described. The system consists of seven second-order SQUID gradiometers with 37 mm diameter and 60 mm baseline, having magnetic field resolution of 1.2-2.8 fT/rtHz. It also includes four sets of coils for 2-D Fourier imaging with pre-polarization. The system's MEG performance was demonstrated by measurements of auditory evoked response. The system was also used to obtain a multi-channel 2-D image of a whole human hand at the measurement field of 46 microtesla with 3 by 3 mm resolution., To appear in Proceedings of 2006 Applied Superconductivity Conference

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the state-of-the-art clinical method for imaging soft-tissue anatomy. Because signal scales with the applied magnetic field, the overwhelming trend in MRI has been high magnetic fields, typically 1.5 or 3 T. However, there has been recent interest in ultra-low field (ULF) MRI using 10-100 μT magnetic fields. At ULF there are opportunities for novel imaging applications such as MRI combined with magnetoencephalography in a single device, imaging through or in the presence of metal, and enhanced spin-lattice tissue contrast. Loss in signal is mitigated by sensitive detectors such as superconducting quantum interference devices and sample pre-polarization, typically from 10-100 mT. There have been several proof-of-concept demonstrations based on this approach. However, ULF MRI image quality still suffers from one or more of the following disadvantages compared to high-frequency MRI: lower signal-to-noise ratio, poor spatial resolution, and longer imaging time. Here we present recent progress toward “clinically relevant” ULF MRI parameters: voxel signal-to-noise ratio > 10, voxel size

Recently it has become both possible and practical to use magnetic resonance (MR) at magnetic fields in the range from µT to mT, the so-called ultra-low-field (ULF) regime. SQUID (superconducting quantum interference device) sensor technology allows for ultra-sensitive detection while pulsed pre-polarizing fields greatly enhance the signal. The instrumentation allows for unprecedented flexibility in signal acquisition sequences and simplified MRI instrumentation. Here we present results for a new application of ULF MRI and relaxometry for the detection and characterization of liquids. We briefly describe the motivation and advantages of the ULF MR approach, and present recent results from a seven-channel ULF MRI/relaxometer system constructed to non-invasively inspect liquids at a security checkpoint for the presence of hazardous material. The instrument was deployed at the Albuquerque International Airport in December 2008, and results from that endeavor are also presented.