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Could a small ringlike structure made of plastic and copper amplify the already powerful imaging capabilities of a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine? Xin Zhang, Stephan Anderson, and their team at the Boston University Photonics Center can clearly picture such a feat. With their combined expertise in engineering, materials science, and medical imaging, Zhang and Anderson, along with Guangwu Duan, ENG mechanical engineering, and<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/span>Xiaoguang Zhao<\/a>, a School of Medicine research assistant professor of radiology, designed a new magnetic metamaterial,\u00a0<\/span>reported in\u00a0<\/span>Communications Physics<\/i><\/a>,<\/i>\u00a0<\/span>capable of boosting the performance of MRI in more ways than one.<\/p>\n MRI uses magnetic fields and radio waves to create images of organs and tissues in the human body, helping doctors diagnose potential problems or diseases. Doctors use MRI to identify abnormalities or diseases in vital organs, as well as many other types of body tissue, including the spinal cord and joints. MRI \u201cis one of the most complex systems invented by human beings,\u201d says\u00a0<\/span>Zhang<\/a>, a College of Engineering professor of mechanical engineering, electrical and computer engineering, biomedical engineering, and materials science and engineering and a BU Photonics Center faculty member.<\/p>\n Depending on what part of the body is being analyzed and how many images are required, an MRI scan can take up to an hour or more. Patients can face long wait times when scheduling an examination, and for the healthcare system, operating the machines is time-consuming and costly. Strengthening MRI from 1.5 T (the symbol for tesla, the measurement for magnetic field strength) to 7.0 T can definitely \u201cturn up the volume\u201d of images, as Anderson and Zhang describe. But although higher-power MRIs can be done using stronger magnetic fields, they come with a host of safety risks and even higher costs to medical clinics. The magnetic field of an MRI machine is so strong that chairs and objects from across the room can be sucked toward the machine\u2014posing dangers to operators and patients alike.<\/span><\/p>\n In contrast, Zhang and Anderson say that their magnetic metamaterial could be used as an additive technology to increase the imaging power of lower-strength MRI machines, increasing the number of patients seen by clinics and decreasing associated costs, without any of the risks that come with using higher-strength magnetic fields. They even envision the metamaterial being used with ultra\u2013low field MRI, which uses magnetic fields that are thousands of times lower than the standard machines currently in use. This would open the door for MRI technology to become widely available around the world.<\/p>\n \u201cThis [magnetic metamaterial] creates a clearer image that may be produced at more than double the speed\u201d of a current MRI scan, says\u00a0<\/span>Anderson<\/a>, a School of Medicine professor of radiology, vice chairman of research in Boston Medical Center\u2019s radiology department, and a Photonics Center faculty member.<\/p>\n![\"mse](\"\/eng\/files\/2019\/06\/re-19-1371-MRI-044.jpg\")