A Hands-On Workshop for Constructing a Low-Field MRI System in Three Days

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Oiye, Ivan Etoku, Sharma, Ajay, Mohanta, Zinia, Sankaralayam, Dinil Sasi, Uchida, Yuto, Akinwale, Teni, Wang, Kexin, Xu, Zechen, Shuai, Yifan, Dinh, Vu, Yuanqi, Sun, Singh, Aruna, Senapati, Dillip K., Ikard, Luke, Ganji, Sandeep K., Reilly, Joseph, Mcmahon, Michael, Lu, Hanzhang, Barker, Peter, Morrison, Jennifer, Ross, Steven M., Bhujwalla, Zaver, Geethanath, Sairam
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Oiye, Ivan Etoku
Sharma, Ajay
Mohanta, Zinia
Sankaralayam, Dinil Sasi
Uchida, Yuto
Akinwale, Teni
Wang, Kexin
Xu, Zechen
Shuai, Yifan
Dinh, Vu
Yuanqi, Sun
Singh, Aruna
Senapati, Dillip K.
Ikard, Luke
Ganji, Sandeep K.
Reilly, Joseph
Mcmahon, Michael
Lu, Hanzhang
Barker, Peter
Morrison, Jennifer
Ross, Steven M.
Bhujwalla, Zaver
Geethanath, Sairam
author_facet Oiye, Ivan Etoku
Sharma, Ajay
Mohanta, Zinia
Sankaralayam, Dinil Sasi
Uchida, Yuto
Akinwale, Teni
Wang, Kexin
Xu, Zechen
Shuai, Yifan
Dinh, Vu
Yuanqi, Sun
Singh, Aruna
Senapati, Dillip K.
Ikard, Luke
Ganji, Sandeep K.
Reilly, Joseph
Mcmahon, Michael
Lu, Hanzhang
Barker, Peter
Morrison, Jennifer
Ross, Steven M.
Bhujwalla, Zaver
Geethanath, Sairam
contents Access to Magnetic Resonance Imaging system assembly knowledge can be expanded by leveraging open-source hardware and software, simplified installation requirements, and collaborative training initiatives. To this end, we conducted a three-day workshop to construct an operational 0.27T MRI scanner. The workshop hosted 16 participants, including faculty, postdoctoral fellows, trainers, and students, who collaborated to build the scanner using open-source hardware and software components. Teams were designated to focus on various subsystems, including the magnet, passive shimming, radiofrequency (RF) coils, gradient coils, data acquisition, and reconstruction. Pre-workshop preparation involved simulation-based design processes and fabrication techniques, which incorporated configuring MaRCoS and PyPulseq libraries, CNC machining, and 3D printing. During the workshop, participants assembled an H-shaped magnet, which achieved a peak magnetic field strength of 0.269T. Passive shimming effectively reduced the field inhomogeneity from 3mT to 2mT. A 3 cm diameter RF solenoid was built and tuned to 11.4 MHz. The gradients exhibited less than 5% non-linearity in simulations and were fabricated by CNC machining copper plates. The assembled system was used to acquire a 2D spin echo of a water phantom. Following the workshop, the system was further optimized to scan relaxometry phantoms. A post-workshop survey was carried out, revealing over 87% satisfaction. The constructed scanner represents a valuable platform for educational initiatives, pulse sequence development, and preclinical research imaging efforts.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2511_20979
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A Hands-On Workshop for Constructing a Low-Field MRI System in Three Days
Oiye, Ivan Etoku
Sharma, Ajay
Mohanta, Zinia
Sankaralayam, Dinil Sasi
Uchida, Yuto
Akinwale, Teni
Wang, Kexin
Xu, Zechen
Shuai, Yifan
Dinh, Vu
Yuanqi, Sun
Singh, Aruna
Senapati, Dillip K.
Ikard, Luke
Ganji, Sandeep K.
Reilly, Joseph
Mcmahon, Michael
Lu, Hanzhang
Barker, Peter
Morrison, Jennifer
Ross, Steven M.
Bhujwalla, Zaver
Geethanath, Sairam
Instrumentation and Detectors
Access to Magnetic Resonance Imaging system assembly knowledge can be expanded by leveraging open-source hardware and software, simplified installation requirements, and collaborative training initiatives. To this end, we conducted a three-day workshop to construct an operational 0.27T MRI scanner. The workshop hosted 16 participants, including faculty, postdoctoral fellows, trainers, and students, who collaborated to build the scanner using open-source hardware and software components. Teams were designated to focus on various subsystems, including the magnet, passive shimming, radiofrequency (RF) coils, gradient coils, data acquisition, and reconstruction. Pre-workshop preparation involved simulation-based design processes and fabrication techniques, which incorporated configuring MaRCoS and PyPulseq libraries, CNC machining, and 3D printing. During the workshop, participants assembled an H-shaped magnet, which achieved a peak magnetic field strength of 0.269T. Passive shimming effectively reduced the field inhomogeneity from 3mT to 2mT. A 3 cm diameter RF solenoid was built and tuned to 11.4 MHz. The gradients exhibited less than 5% non-linearity in simulations and were fabricated by CNC machining copper plates. The assembled system was used to acquire a 2D spin echo of a water phantom. Following the workshop, the system was further optimized to scan relaxometry phantoms. A post-workshop survey was carried out, revealing over 87% satisfaction. The constructed scanner represents a valuable platform for educational initiatives, pulse sequence development, and preclinical research imaging efforts.
title A Hands-On Workshop for Constructing a Low-Field MRI System in Three Days
topic Instrumentation and Detectors
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.20979