Industrial Applications of Magnetic Resonance

Historically, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is usually associated with medicine, having made outstanding contributions in radiology. Underlying MRI is a long history of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) that has focused on the fundamental study of chemistry and physics with equally important discoveries. Sporadically, there have been attempts to move both NMR and MRI into the industrial sector as a tool for quality assurance and inspection. Although a technical success, magnetic resonance has had difficulty competing with other methods in an industrial setting. Examples will be given of the history and potential of this intriguing field.