Simulating T1/T2 gradient relaxation times for nuclear spins freely diffusing in the lungs (2016)

Undergraduate: Jack Fellerman

Faculty Advisor: Tamara Branca
Department: Physics & Astronomy

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T1/T2 times are characteristic decay times of a coherent ensemble of nuclear spins, they are important in the study of MRI as their influence can be felt in the signal obtained after an experiment is performed. Different imaging techniques rely on the values of these decay times. Thus a step towards improving in vivo lung MRI is the accurate modelling of these decay times for a gas diffusing in the lungs. We use MATLAB run Monte Carlo random walk simulations to model the T1/T2 decay times of nuclear spins diffusing in magnetic gradients in the lungs caused by differences in magnetic susceptibility between air, tissue and super paramagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles.