Submitted by: Submitted by davidcowin
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Category: Science and Technology
Date Submitted: 01/30/2011 04:05 PM
Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Electricity
The most valuable discovery in modern history is how to effectively and safely harness and use electricity. Without question, electricity has improved the lives of humans. One such use of helpful electricity is in the workings of equipment used in hospitals from X-ray machines to cardiac bypass machines to MRI’s. In the medical field, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) has surpassed all other advancements in medical diagnostic technology and has helped save and enrich all of our lives. According to Dr. William C. Shiel, MRI is defined as a “special radiology technique designed to image internal structures of the body using magnetism, radio waves, and a computer to produce the images of body structures” (Shiel, 2004). MRI machines are wonderful indicative tools that are motorized by heavy duty magnets. These magnets work on the principal that, “A changing magnetic field creates an electrical field and a changing electrical field creates a magnetic field therefore electricity can be used to magnetize objects, and magnets can be used to form electricity” (Akurei, 2010). Early scientific history shows that during times of trial and error, a few key discoveries were recognized as playing a vital role in the creation of the modern MRI.
Beginning in 1882, Nikola Tesla discovered the Rotating Magnetic Field and in 1937 through 1977 several prominent scientists, doctors and professors worked on pioneering projects that dealt with strong magnetic fields and imaging of atoms in the human body. According to the Tesla Memorial Society, there are four major steps in taking of an MRI. “First, MRI creates a steady state of magnetism within the human body by placing the body in a steady magnetic field. Second, the MRI stimulates the body with radio waves to change the steady-state orientation of protons. Third, the MRI machine stops the radio waves and registers the body's electromagnetic transmission. Fourth, the...