X-Message-Number: 3648 From: (Joseph J. Strout) Newsgroups: sci.cryonics Subject: Re: Medical scanners Date: 9 Jan 1995 00:07:46 GMT Message-ID: <> References: <> In article <>, (Brent Fox) wrote: > (NMR)- Nuclear Magnetic Resonance > (SPECT)- Single Photon Emission Tomography > (SQUID)- ? NMR is just the original term for MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging). It was changed because it was felt that the public wouldn't like the sound of a "nuclear" instrument. As you probably know, NMR/MRI works by aligning atoms (usually hydrogen) in the body with a steep magnetic gradient. A radio pulse is then applied, and the sample emits radio signals in response. These signals are characteristic of the number of atoms present as well as the chemical environment of the atoms. There are variations -- Functional MRI (fMRI) takes advantage of the fact that the level of oxygen in the blood affects its magnetic properties, enabling researchers to image the amount of activity in various areas of the brain. SQUID stands for Superconducting Quantum Interference Device, but I don't have any detailed info on it -- can someone help us? -- Joseph J. Strout Dept. of Neuroscience Univ of CA, San Diego -------------------------------------------------------- check out the Mind Uploading Home Page: http://sunsite.unc.edu/jstrout/uploading/MUHomePage.html Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=3648