Functional imaging: Magnetic resonance imaging

Abstract

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has had a substantial clinical impact since the first commercial scanners were introduced in the early 1980s. The ability to image most human tissue and a wide range of pathologies at high-resolution and high anatomic contrast has led to the explosive propagation of MRI scanners worldwide. Anatomic MRI has enabled identification of tumors, lesions, and other pathologies throughout the body and has been particularly effective and suitable for brain imaging due to the predominance of its MR-differentiable soft tissue, lack of motion, and high levels of magnetic field homogeneity relative to the rest of the body.