核磁気共鳴（NMR）画像

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging

I．はじめに

　近年，核磁気共鳴（NMR）現象が医学に応用されるようになって，急速にその診断装置の開発が進み，NMR-CTとも呼ばれX線CTと同様に生体の断面を画像として得ることができるようになってきた。ここではNMRの研究の沿革と原理を要約し，脳を中心に現在得られている画像を紹介するとともに二，三の実験と今後の発展の可能性について述べてみたい。

Summary

　Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging for medical diagnosis is rapidly approaching a time of widespread clinical trials. It may ulti-mately give images as clear as those obtained with transmission computed tomography with a potential for defining tissue chemistry. Perhaps the method can be as free from hazards as is visualobservation. The ability to produce coronal and sagittal as well as axial transverse images directly is shown to have important implications for precise lesion assessment. NMR imagings at high magnetic fields demonstrate excellent image quality and high spatial resolution.