Magnetic Resonance Imaging, MRI , is based on a phenomenon observed in 1938 by a certain Isidor Isaac Rabi on molecular beams. It allows the exploration of the organs of the human body without requiring an operation thanks to the detection of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance signals. (NMR) emitted by tissue hydrogen atoms. The technique takes the name of MRI after the end of the Second World War and the first drops of atomic bomb , the word nuclear being removed from the naming for its overly aggressive connotation. Many researchers contributed to its development, such as Felix Bloch and Edward Mills Purcell in 1946. Raymond Vahan Damadian proposes as early as 1969 to use NMR for medical purposes and in particular in the detection of tumours.
MRI:the absolute weapon of modern medicine
The process developed over the following decades and continued to improve, in particular in terms of resolution quality, and from the 1980s made it possible to have a 2D or 3D view of a part of the body, in particular the brain :by applying a combination of high frequency electromagnetic waves to a part of the body and measuring the signal re-emitted by certain atoms (such as hydrogen ), it is indeed possible to determine the chemical composition and therefore the nature of the biological tissues at each point of the imaged volume.
Unlike CT and other imaging techniques such as PET, MRI is non-invasive and does not irradiate, which has a considerable advantage . This technique has since been widely used for the detection of neurological diseases such as multiple sclerosis, strokes and tumors, all with deadly precision.