A DEDICATED MRI APPARATUS FOR MEDICAL AND INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS

So far, one of the major obstacles to the development of special purpo se MRI imaging apparatus has been the lack of a magnetic technology th at could cater to the need for a light, compact and efficient magnet, capable of providing the required field uniformity at a reasonable cos t. Today, recent advances in magnet design permit attaining, with the use solely of ferrite, low-cost, small-scale scanners, which can open up new areas of application of MRI, in both medical and industrial fie lds. A novel apparatus (ARTOSCAN(TM)) is described and some examples o f applications in different fields are shown. The apparatus has been d esigned specifically for the imaging of extremities, but possible appl ications on the industrial side are numerous and not yet all identifie d. Such a device could be used, for example, in the agricultural, food , and oil industries, where some of the needs for nondestructive quali ty-control devices could be fulfilled. Some tests have been performed that demonstrate the potential of the apparatus in the study of rock p roperties, of the drying process of pasta and wood, and to display fla ws that could be present in ceramic materials before firing.