Low-field dedicated and desktop magnetic resonance imaging systems for agricultural and food applications

Dedicated low-field (0.1 T) resistive magnets equipped with solenoid coils were devised for high-resolution and rapid magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in agricultural and food science. The maximum pixel resolution is 0.1×0.1 mm with a 0.8 mm slice thickness, and 3D T1, T2 and T2* weighted images are obtained in 3 s–6 min depending on the contrast and number of slices. In place of resistive magnets two desktop permanent magnet designs are also described and their field characteristics and possible usefulness for small-sized low-cost MRI scanners, are discussed. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.