This is supplemental course information, designed to give you a fuller picture of the course and an expanded look at the topics covered. This is an unofficial document. The USC Course Catalog is the binding description of all university courses. Information such as books, materials covered, and the order of topics is subject to change. Please consult instructor for this semseter to get more upto date course information.
Professor Krishna Nayak
knayak@usc.edu EE 483 (digital signal processing)
Familiarity with MATLAB
Graduate Standing or instructor permission EE 441 (applied linear algebra for engineers)
EE 464 (probability theory for engineers)

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a powerful, flexible, and relatively new modality for imaging structures within the body. The acquisition and reconstruction of MRI data is uniquely rooted in Fourier analysis, sampling, and linear systems. The course will first cover the physics of MR, selective excitation, image acquisition, image contrast, volumetric imaging, and various system imperfections; and will then cover image reconstruction from non-uniform frequency domain data, reconstruction from incomplete data, de-blurring techniques, and the correction of various image artifacts. Coursework will be motivated by clinical and research applications such as cardiac imaging, flow measurement, and functional MRI.

· Understanding of how magnetic resonance imaging systems work. What are the basic physics involved? Multidimensional signals and systems concepts. In-depth understanding of Fourier transforms.
· How do you form an image and how can you manipulate its content? How do you selectively excite a small region? How do you resolve signal from different spatial positions? What are the main sources of image contrast?
· How are MR images reconstructed? What are the main sources of noise, distortions, and artifact? What types of artifact can be corrected? Automatic correction techniques. Measurement-based correction techniques.

· DG Nishimura, Principles of Magnetic Resonance Imaging
· Handouts and review articles.

Recommended Text:

· MA Bernstein et al., Handbook of MRI Pulse Sequences, Academic Press
· ZP Liang and PC Lauterbur, Principles of Magnetic Resonance Imaging: a Signal Processing Perspective, Wiley-IEEE
· EM Haacke et al., Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Physical Principles and Sequence Design, Wiley
· RN Bracewell, The Fourier Transform and it’s Applications, McGraw Hill
Matlab (Mathworks, Inc., South Natick, MA)

Timeline:

IMAGING PHYSICS AND ACQUISITION (WEEKS 1-8)

    Classical description of NMR “spins”
    Polarization, precession, relaxation and the Bloch Equation
    Magnetic fields used in MRI (static field, linear gradients, RF field)
    k-space
    Selective Excitation
    Pulse sequence design, resolution and field of view
    Bloch Simulation in MATLAB
    Image Reconstruction in MATLAB
    Generating Image Contrast
    Imaging Considerations
    Flow and Motion
    System Imperfections
    Noise in MRI

MIDTERM

ADVANCED TOPICS (WEEKS 9-15)

    Matrix Treatment of MRI
    Parallel Imaging (SENSE and GRAPPA)
    Steady-State Free Precession (SSFP) Imaging
    Spin De-phasing and Phase Graphs
    Fast Imaging Sequences
    Reconstruction of non-Cartesian data (gridding)
    Partial k-space reconstruction
    Fat-Water separation
    Off-resonance measurement and correction
    Simulation of Flow and Off-Resonance in MATLAB
    Cardiac Imaging (will not be tested on this material)
    Current Research Topics (will not be tested on this material)


PROJECT PRESENTATIONS

FINAL EXAM

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES:

Any student requesting academic accommodations based on a disability is required to register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification for approved accommodations can be obtained from DSP. Please be sure the letter is delivered to me (or to TA) as early in the semester as possible. DSP is located in STU 301 and is open 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The phone number for DSP is (213) 740-0776.

For more information you may visit the webpage at: http://mrel.usc.edu/class/



Prepared by: Krishna Nayak   Date:9/27/06