Magnetic Printed
Resonance in the USA.
Imaging, Vol. IO, p. 1 All rights reserved.
I I, 1992 CopyrIght
0
0730-725X/92 $5.00 + .oO 1992 Pergamon Press Ltd.
0 Editorial
FIRST FORUM AMPERE, ROME, 1991: MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING NEW METHODOLOGIES: IMPACT ON INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH sequence. Imaging of solids based on NQR was thoroughly analyzed as well. Special attention was devoted to the fluid fraction of materials (solid-fluid transition of polymers, etc.) and to fluids in porous materials. Of course the multiphase flow imaging in porous materials was the focus at this session. The analogy of the study of flow in porous media with that of the pollution of soil was stressed, and should therefore be considered in the future. Within these fields, inhomogeneous broadening imaging found a complementary and interesting role together with its potential industrial applications. Other fields of great interest for MRI potential applications were discussed. In particular, the use of MRI for the study of transport processes in plants was reported, together with a devoted small scale imager for in situ studies. The great future of MRI for the study of in vivo metabolism in humans, animals, and plants received great attention from pharmaceutical industry research. Particularly interesting were the application to pathological states. Within this area, contrast agents were discussed, as considered in a very broad way, not limited to humans and to contrast enhancement. Although the fields of applications were substantially different, the common physical and technical backgrounds of the speakers generated an excellent interface with the scientists from industry and applied research laboratories, so that the scientific discussion was very homogeneous and exciting.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is currently undergoing a second dramatic period of evolution, after the first important clinical achievements reached in the 19XOs,built mostly on the foundations established in the mid 1970s. Although the medical objectives of MRI keep broadening on the technological level of instrumentation and consequently in the new applications, several laboratories responsible for the early development of MRI are investigating new methodologies that could make the application of MRI to other applied research areas extremely relevant. Industrial laboratories are already active in such areas as contrast agents, but several other growing activities have so far remained confined primarily to communications at conferences established mostly for basic NMR research (e.g., the Congress AMPERE), For these reasons, the Bureau AMPERE proposed the organization in Rome of the First Forum AMPERE. In this Forum leading scientists, working at the frontier of space-resolved magnetic resonance, met and discussed their recent results with scientists involved in industrial research. The aim of this Forum was, therefore, the discussion of new fundamental achievements of MRI, in order to evaluate their possible impact on future industrial research in areas such as materials science, solid state, geology, pharmacology, and so on. The important field of solid state imaging was proposed with different approaches: MRI combined with the magic angle spinning technique, the multiple pulse NMR imaging applied to materials with special attention to polymers, and a novel method for imaging solids, based on the Lee-Goldburg line narrowing
B. MARAVIGLIA
711
Resonance in the USA.
Imaging, Vol. IO, p. 1 All rights reserved.
I I, 1992 CopyrIght
0
0730-725X/92 $5.00 + .oO 1992 Pergamon Press Ltd.
0 Editorial
FIRST FORUM AMPERE, ROME, 1991: MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING NEW METHODOLOGIES: IMPACT ON INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH sequence. Imaging of solids based on NQR was thoroughly analyzed as well. Special attention was devoted to the fluid fraction of materials (solid-fluid transition of polymers, etc.) and to fluids in porous materials. Of course the multiphase flow imaging in porous materials was the focus at this session. The analogy of the study of flow in porous media with that of the pollution of soil was stressed, and should therefore be considered in the future. Within these fields, inhomogeneous broadening imaging found a complementary and interesting role together with its potential industrial applications. Other fields of great interest for MRI potential applications were discussed. In particular, the use of MRI for the study of transport processes in plants was reported, together with a devoted small scale imager for in situ studies. The great future of MRI for the study of in vivo metabolism in humans, animals, and plants received great attention from pharmaceutical industry research. Particularly interesting were the application to pathological states. Within this area, contrast agents were discussed, as considered in a very broad way, not limited to humans and to contrast enhancement. Although the fields of applications were substantially different, the common physical and technical backgrounds of the speakers generated an excellent interface with the scientists from industry and applied research laboratories, so that the scientific discussion was very homogeneous and exciting.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is currently undergoing a second dramatic period of evolution, after the first important clinical achievements reached in the 19XOs,built mostly on the foundations established in the mid 1970s. Although the medical objectives of MRI keep broadening on the technological level of instrumentation and consequently in the new applications, several laboratories responsible for the early development of MRI are investigating new methodologies that could make the application of MRI to other applied research areas extremely relevant. Industrial laboratories are already active in such areas as contrast agents, but several other growing activities have so far remained confined primarily to communications at conferences established mostly for basic NMR research (e.g., the Congress AMPERE), For these reasons, the Bureau AMPERE proposed the organization in Rome of the First Forum AMPERE. In this Forum leading scientists, working at the frontier of space-resolved magnetic resonance, met and discussed their recent results with scientists involved in industrial research. The aim of this Forum was, therefore, the discussion of new fundamental achievements of MRI, in order to evaluate their possible impact on future industrial research in areas such as materials science, solid state, geology, pharmacology, and so on. The important field of solid state imaging was proposed with different approaches: MRI combined with the magic angle spinning technique, the multiple pulse NMR imaging applied to materials with special attention to polymers, and a novel method for imaging solids, based on the Lee-Goldburg line narrowing
B. MARAVIGLIA
711
