NMR Microscopy at 500MHZ

Available from UMI in association with The British Library. Requires signed TDF. The work described in this thesis is that undertaken by the author except where indicated by reference. It was carried out in the physics department of the University of Nottingham between October 1987 and April 1991. This thesis describes the development of instrumentation and imaging sequences for use on a newly built NMR microscope system at Nottingham. The problems of designing and using RF probes at high magnetic fields are addressed. In particular, a novel RF coil design is analysed, and compared experimentally with theoretical predictions and existing coil designs. Development of the ultra-fast echo-planar imaging technique for use on the microscope is described. The problems of using echo-planar imaging are discussed, and images from some preliminary studies are presented. Three-dimensional imaging techniques have been developed on the microscope system. The problems and advantages of 3-D imaging are discussed, and some preliminary 3-D data sets are presented with various matrix sizes. Macroscopic scale imaging is possible on the microscope system using comparatively large RF probes. A design for a 'large' RF probe is presented along with some images of biological samples acquired using the probe. Some preliminary studies in collaboration with the Mars confectionary company are also presented. Finally, some general results from the microscope imaging group at Nottingham are presented, and the future prospects for NMR microscopy are discussed.