MRI Contrast Agent

MRI Contrast Agent

MRI contrast agents are a group of contrast media used to improve the visibility of internal body structures in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The most commonly used compounds for contrast enhancement are gadolinium-based. MRI contrast agents alter the relaxation times of atoms within body tissues where they are present after oral or intravenous administration. In MRI scanners sections of the body are exposed to a very strong magnetic field, a radiofrequency pulse is applied causing some atoms (including those in contrast agents) to spin and then relax after the pulse stops. This relaxation emits energy which is detected by the scanner and is mathematically converted into an image. The MRI image can be weighted in different ways giving a higher or lower signal.

Read more about MRI Contrast Agent:  Types, Future Research/developments in MRI Contrast Agents

Famous quotes containing the words contrast and/or agent:

    In contrast to revenge, which is the natural, automatic reaction to transgression and which, because of the irreversibility of the action process can be expected and even calculated, the act of forgiving can never be predicted; it is the only reaction that acts in an unexpected way and thus retains, though being a reaction, something of the original character of action.
    Hannah Arendt (1906–1975)

    Caution is the confidential agent of selfishness.
    Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924)