Magnetic Resonance Susceptometry: Principles and Applications in Biomedicine

Introduction. Accurate measurement of magnetic susceptibility of nominally non-magnetic medium requires strong applied magnetic field combined with sensitive detection. Such measurements traditionally utilized superconducting sensors in a dedicated cryogenic setup. Modern high-field MRI provides an ideal combination of strong magnetizing field and sensitive measurement readily applicable to biological tissue. Furthermore, the inherent localization capability of MRI allows detailed magnetic imaging of an object both in-vivo and ex-vivo, with or without magnetic contrast agents. This talk will overview the principles and practices of MR susceptometry with emphasis on applications in biomedicine.