A new type of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) could enable doctors to detect a number of diseases in a matter of minutes. Unlike the traditional MRI method, which generates a magnetic field and pulses of radio waves to map the body, Magnetic Resonance Fingerprinting (MRF) works by generating multiple magnetic frequencies simultaneously and using software algorithms to decode the results.

Mark Griswold, a radiology professor at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, compared the difference between the techniques to the difference between two choirs. While MRIs “sing” a single tone, MRFs generate a rich harmony that can distinguish between multiple tissue properties. Researchers believe they could develop a “songbook” of diseases that will allow doctors to identify diseases based on their tone. “If colon cancer is ‘Happy Birthday’ and we don’t hear ‘Happy Birthday,’ the patient doesn’t have colon cancer,” says Griswold.
via The Verge

Continue reading