ImageTech Lab
The field trip to the SFU ImageTech Lab was my first look at an MRI and MEG machine. It was really cool to be standing in front of multi-million dollar pieces of equipment. To me personally, this represents scientific progress and growth. To accommodate the complexity of science, larger and more expensive machines need to be built. However, I think it would be an even bigger achievement if scientists can make portable commercial MRI’s. Also, I didn’t know how scientists actually conduct medical research. So I found it really fascinating learning how researchers collect data, find patterns and then develop technology to help people.
MRI and MEG
I found the MRI and MEG’s really fascinating because they combine 3 subjects I’m really passionate about: mathematics, coding, and physics. This made the field trip more interesting because it really showed the interconnectedness of these subjects. I enjoyed learning about using magnetism to generate information on the brain. Then the coding and mathematical modeling to identify patterns. It’s really cool that one piece of technology connects all of these things together.
I really enjoyed learning about the MEG because unlike the MRI, I actually didn’t know a lot about it before. What I found really cool about the MEG is that it can detect really weak magnetic fields. I was not actually aware that we have the technology to build such highly sensitive magnetic detectors. So I was pretty surprised when I learned that we can collect thousands of data points on brain waves. Furthermore, to collect data on really weak magnetic fields (brain waves) the earth’s magnetic field has to be blocked. Furthermore, the lab is able to block even the tiniest interference to collect accurate data which I found really impressive. Overall, I found the MEG a really impressive and fascinating piece of technology.
I knew a little bit about MRI’s beforehand so seeing the technology in real life was really interesting. Also, it was super cool seeing real images generated by the MRI. Furthermore, getting to learn more detailed information about the MRI from an expert was really fascinating. The lab also imaged fruits and other things using the MRI which I also found really cool. You don’t normally get to see MRI pictures of things other than the brain/human body.
What Are MRIs?
The composition of your body is mainly water (H20). The protons in the water molecule can become aligned with a really strong magnetic field. So that’s exactly what Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) does. It generates a magnetic field that is 2 to 3 thousand times stronger than a typical fridge magnet. The protons align with this really strong magnetic field. Then the MRI machine emits a radio frequency current which causes the protons alignment to break. When the radio frequency current is turned off The protons realign with the magnetic field. Then the MRI is able to collect information based on the energy released when the proton aligns with the magnetic field again. Scientists are able to gather all types of data since there is a slightly different amount of energy released based on molecular composition.
What Are MEGs?
The human brain is composed of neurons that conduct electricity to communicate with other parts of the brain. Furthermore, a magnetic field is generated from the flow of electricity. The magnetic field of a single neuron is really small. However, when the neurons of a certain section of the brain are excited, they can produce a detectable magnetic field. Although, this magnetic field is still really small- around 1 billion times weaker than the Earth’s. Using really sensitive magnetic detectors called SQUIDs (Superconducting Quantum Interference Device) the magnetic field is detected. Liquid helium cools the SQUIDs down to -269 degrees Celsius. At this temperature, there is really low interference and the SQUIDs can amplify really weak magnetic fields. Scientists collect thousands of data points on the magnetic fields called brain waves.
In conclusion, getting to see and learn about MRI’s and MEG’s was super cool! Furthermore, I really liked learning about collecting the data and doing research. Actually getting to see the technology and meeting the scientists was really fun!
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