Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain
Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain uses magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to produce high quality two-dimensional or three-dimensional images of the brain and brainstem without the use of ionizing radiation (X-rays) or radioactive tracers. History. The first MR images of a human brain were obtained in 1978 by two groups of researchers at EMI Laboratories led by Ian Robert Young and Hugh Clow. In 1986, Charles L. Dumoulin and Howard R. Hart at General Electric developed MR angiography, and Denis Le Bihan obtained the first images and later patented diffusion MRI . In 1988, Arno Villringer and colleagues demonstrated that susceptibility contrast agents may be employed in perfusion MRI. In 1990, Seiji Ogawa at AT&T Bell labs recognized that oxygen-depleted blood with dHb was attracted to a magnetic field, and discovered the technique that underlies Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). In the early 1990s, Peter Basser and Le Bihan, working at NIH, and Aaron Filler, Franklyn Howe, and colleagues developed diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Joseph Hajnal, Young and Graeme Bydder described the use of FLAIR pulse sequence to demonstrate high signal regions in normal white matter in 1992. In the same  year, John Detre, Alan P. Koretsky and coworkers developed arterial spin labeling. In 1997, Jürgen R. Reichenbach, E. Mark Haacke and coworkers at Washington University developed Susceptibility weighted imaging. The first study of the human brain at 3.0 T was published in 1994, and in 1998 at 8 T. Studies of the human brain have been performed at 9.4 T (2006) and up to 10.5 T (2019). Paul Lauterbur and Sir Peter Mansfield were awarded the 2003 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discoveries concerning MRI. The record for the highest spatial resolution of a whole intact brain  (postmortem) is 100 microns, from Massachusetts General Hospital. The data was published in NATURE on 30th of October 2019. Applications. One advantage of MRI of the brain over computed tomography of the head is better tissue contrast, and it has fewer artifacts than CT when viewing the brainstem. MRI is also superior for pituitary imaging. It may however be less effective at identifying early cerebritis. In the case of a concussion, an MRI should be avoided unless there are progressive neurological symptoms, focal neurological findings or concern of skull fracture on exam. In the analysis of a concussion, measurements of  Fractional Anisotropy, Mean Diffusivity, Cerebral Blood Flow, and Global Connectivity can be taken to observe the pathophysiological mechanisms being made while in recovery. In analysis of the fetal brain, MRI provides more information about gyration than ultrasound. MRI is sensitive for the detection of brain abscess. A number of different imaging modalities or sequences can be used with imaging the nervous system: Artificial intelligence. On the topic of diagnosis, MRI data may be used to identify brain tumors.