Scientists have detected a single atom using MRI

For the first time ever, scientists have managed to detect a single atom using super high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging.

Scientists have detected a single atom using MRI Diamond-magnetometer_1170-770x460_web

Scientists have detected a single atom using MRI Diamond-magnetometer_1170-770x460_web

Researchers from the Laboratory for Solid State Physics at ETH Zurich in Switzerland have built a tiny magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine that’s powerful enough to detect a single hydrogen atom - a huge breakthrough in the quest to make MRI more powerful.

Currently, MRI technology used in hospitals works by creating a powerful magnetic field with electromagnetic coils, and then measuring how the nuclei of the hydrogen atom in our tissues respond. This gives doctors an image of the composition of different types of tissues and allows them to spot objects as small as one-tenth of a millimetre, such as tumours.

But while this is great to help diagnose disease, an important goal for scientists is to be able to image single molecules - something that would require more than one million times finer resolution than is currently available.

By detecting the signal from a single hydrogen atom, scientists have now taken an important step towards that goal. This new nano-MRI technology could be used to help scientists image individual proteins and find out more about their structures, something that could be incredibly useful for drug development.

http://mail.sciencealert.com.au/news/20142310-26383.html

Scientists have detected a single atom using MRI

Scientists have detected a single atom using MRI

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