How MRI Scanners are Made | How It's Made | Science Channel

The MRI scanner was invented in 1977, and it's revolutionized medical diagnostics. Short for magnetic resonance imaging, an MRI offers an inside look at the human body without surgery or x rays. When investigating health problems, it's a great way to get the picture. Using magnetic fields and radio wave pulses, an MRI can look right through you to determine what's going on under your skin. The magnet is incredibly powerful. It's up to 30,000 times stronger than the Earth's magnetic field. To make an MRI scanner. They weld aluminum casing around the magnet, creating a tunnel in the center for the patient. The seams must be extremely tight because the tube will also contain the super cold liquid helium, which will make the magnet so incredibly powerful. Once the welds are complete, they cap the magnet and transfer it to a test chamber. They pump helium gas into the tube and activate a vacuum system that sucks out the air in the chamber. A sensor confirms there are no leaks and the welds are tight. They now construct a second aluminum tube around the magnet. This will act as an insulating shield. They wrap an aluminum mylar blanket tightly around the magnet. Aluminum mylar was first developed as an insulating material for spacesuits. In this case, it'll be used to deflect heat to keep the magnet cold. They now insert the magnet into a steel shell. This is known as the vacuum vessel because air will be pulled from the space between it and the magnet, creating a vacuum which will serve as another insulator. They mask the tunnel with plastic and spray paint the exterior white. The paint will protect the steel from rust. Next, they install a refrigeration unit known as a cold head. The cold head will maintain the helium around the MRI's primary magnet at the incredibly chilly temperature of -269 degrees Celsius. This will keep the helium in a liquid state without the cold head. Significant amounts would vaporize and be lost. They now pump the liquid helium into the magnet. It's one of the coldest things on the planet. And the film nozzles turn frosty. Exposed to this extreme cold, the magnet loses all electrical resistance and becomes a superconductor, generating intense magnetic fields. With the MRI magnet complete, they move on to the gradient coil, which will control the orientation of the image with electrical pulses. It starts with a fiberglass epoxy tube cut to the correct length. A worker carves grooves in the tube and fills those grooves with epoxy. So he then winds copper wire into the epoxy field grooves and it adheres forming the gradient coil. The team slathers epoxy onto the entire tube. The epoxy seals the wire preventing vibrations of the coil when it's in operation. They layer etched copper plates onto the epoxy and they adhere. They wrap the coil tightly with Teflon cloth. A worker pours epoxy resin onto the fabric. He then winds tubing around the gradient coil and it adheres to the epoxy coated cloth. These are cooling lines. They'll disperse heat generated by the gradient coil. Another worker now preps the next fiberglass tube. This one is for the MRIs radio frequency coil. There's much more to come before this MRI's scanner is ready to provide an inside look at the human body. Work on the MRIs. Radiofrequency coil is underway. A technician attaches plastic risers and pads to the fiberglass core. The risers and pads will hold the circuitry parts at a uniform level. She applies adhesive backed strips of copper from one band of risers to the other. These copper strips are the antenna. They'll send and receive signals from the body and relay them to a computer to produce the MRI image. She presses the copper with a round tip tool for better adhesion to the core. She then dabs epoxy glue into the riser compartments. She inserts capacitors into the glue filled compartments. These little capacitors will store energy and change the frequency of the coil to match the magnets. The technician sorters the ends of the capacitors to the copper antenna as she builds the circuitry. She transfers numerous high voltage inductor boards to the pads and screws them in place. Next up, our cable splitter units. Another technician installs one near an inductor board. She routes some of the cables from the splitter to several of the inductors. And she solders the cables to the inductors. She places a plastic cable track on the side of the radio frequency coil and snakes the main power cable through it. She saw it as the cable to the antenna. The technician stiffens the copper antenna with composite boards to dampen vibrations when the mry is in operation. She applies epoxy around all the cables. The epoxy secures the cables to keep them from moving around and making noise. The MRI is radio frequency coil is complete and ready to be put to the test. The next worker caps the ends with metal domes and bolts them tightly to it. She pumps highly pressurized air into the capped radio frequency coil. She sprays soapy water over the exterior of the coil and looks for air bubbles. Bubbles in the soapy residue would indicate a leak that would disrupt airflow in the dry. With the radiofrequency coil leak free. They now slide it into the gradient coil, which has gained an outer fiberglass shell since we last saw it. The worker connects exterior tubing to the network of cooling lines inside the gradient coil. With those connections made, they're ready to assemble the coils to the magnet. The worker slides the assembly off the cart and into the MRI magnet. He installs a bracket that centers the coils, maintaining a small gap between them and the magnet. He equips the Maasai with microphones and speakers to communicate with the patient. There's also a signaling system here for the patient to activate in the event of an emergency. Now for the ultimate test. They energise the magnet and send standard test objects into the MRI. They scan the objects and confirm that the picture is clear. They add a metal and plastic outer casing. This MRI's scanner is now ready to focus on diagnosis. The next picture it takes could be a life saver.

Channel: Science Channel

Views: 445,478

Keywords: MRI scanner, science channel, how it's made, science, medical equipment, how its made, mechanical production, how it's made episodes, discovery, discovery plus, production line, how its made full episodes, factory made, manufactured product, brooks moore, tony hirst, lynne adams, lynn herzeg

Id: PLBi594ttzk

Length: 9min 42sec (582 seconds)

Published: Fri Jan 20 2023