%0 Journal Article %J Journal of Physical Chemistry A %D 2011 %T Remotely Detected MRI Velocimetry in Microporous Bead Packs %A Halpern-Manners, N. W. %A Paulsen, J. L. %A Bajaj, V. S. %A Pines, A. %K gradients %X

Many NAIR and MRI methods probe fluid dynamics within macro- and mesoporous materials, but with few exceptions, they report on its macroscopically averaged properties. MRI methods are generally unable to localize microscopic features of flow within macroscopic samples because the fraction of the enclosing detector volume occupied by these features is so small. We have recently overcome this problem using remotely detected MRI velocimetry, a technique in which spatial, chemical, and velocity information about elements of the flow is encoded with a conventional NMR coil and detected sensitively at the sample outflow by a volume-matched microdetector. Here, we apply this method to microporous model systems, recording MRI images that correlate local velocity, spin relaxation, and time-of-flight in microscopic resolution and three spatial dimensions. Our results illustrate that remotely detected MRI is an effective approach to elucidate flow dynamics in porous materials including bead pack microreactors and chromatography columns.

%B Journal of Physical Chemistry A %V 115 %P 4023-4030 %8 Apr 28 %@ 1089-5639 %G English %U ://WOS:000289697500039 %N 16 %M WOS:000289697500039 %! Remotely Detected MRI Velocimetry in Microporous Bead Packs %R Doi 10.1021/Jp109728j %0 Journal Article %J Journal of Magnetic Resonance %D 2009 %T Distortion-free magnetic resonance imaging in the zero-field limit %A Kelso, N. %A Lee, S. K. %A Bouchard, L. S. %A Demas, V. %A Mück, M. %A Pines, A. %A Clarke, J. %K gradients %X

MRI is a powerful technique for clinical diagnosis and materials characterization. Images are acquired in a homogeneous static magnetic field much higher than the fields generated across the field of view by the spatially encoding field gradients. Without such a high field, the concomitant components of the field gradient dictated by Maxwell's equations lead to severe distortions that make imaging impossible with conventional MRI encoding. In this paper, we present a distortion-free image of a phantom acquired with a fundamentally different methodology in which the applied static field approaches zero. Our technique involves encoding with pulses of uniform and gradient field, and acquiring the magnetic field signals with a SQUID. The method can be extended to weak ambient fields, potentially enabling imaging in the Earth's field without cancellation coils or shielding. Other potential applications include quantum information processing and fundamental studies of long-range ferromagnetic interactions. (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

%B Journal of Magnetic Resonance %V 200 %P 285-290 %8 Oct %@ 1090-7807 %G English %U ://WOS:000272260900015 %N 2 %M WOS:000272260900015 %! Distortion-free magnetic resonance imaging in the zero-field limit %R Doi 10.1016/J.Jmr.2009.07.016