MRI cap made of piercing material – wissenschaft.de

This build might look like a kid’s toy or a new type of bicycle helmet. However, it actually helps make brain MRIs more accurate, faster, and cheaper.

Paranormal materials are an integral part of today’s science. Among other things, they help in processing sound or electromagnetic waves. A metamaterial consists of many small elements that are unparalleled on their own. Only by combining these subtle structures and a special arrangement do they acquire their own characteristics.

A team led by Ke Wu of Boston University has now seen the potential to improve the result of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in such a structure. To do this, they use a combination of individual copper coils connected to each other via 3D-printed elements. The special thing about this: the distance between the coils can be varied flexibly using the adjusting screws. In this way, the system can be adapted to the resonance frequency of the MRI, as this is related to the variable wavelength used by the device.

To achieve this, Ke Wu and his team first developed the structure in a flat configuration. Now they have turned this into a wearable helmet. This is used in brain scans and amplifies electromagnetic waves in a targeted manner. According to the researchers’ initial measurements, this appears to be working: In their tests, they were able to reduce noise in the MRI result by a factor of 4.5 using the helmet meta.

According to the scientists, the amplification of the measurement waves also means that the survey is completed faster. So the superstructure can help clinicians and radiologists not only work more accurately, but also more cost effectively. Wu’s team believes the technology could be of great use, especially in developing countries, where outdated or cheaper MRI models are often used. However, due to the descriptive structure, they can still provide a high-quality image.

© wissenschaft.de – Jan Fleischer