Nuclear spin noise imaging

Abstract

NMR images were obtained from the proton spin noise signals of a water-containing phantom, which was placed in the highly tuned, low-noise resonant circuit of a cryogenically cooled NMR probe in the presence of systematically varied magnetic field gradients. The spatially resolved proton spin density was obtained from the raw signal by a modified projection-reconstruction protocol. Although spin noise imaging is inherently less sensitive than conventional magnetic resonance imaging, it affords an entirely noninvasive visualization of the interior of opaque objects or subjects. Thus, tomography becomes possible even when neither x-ray nor radio frequency radiation can be applied for technical or safety reasons.