I recently had an MRI scan for the first time and as I had no idea how an MRI scan works except it scans your body, so I decided to research a bit about the physics behind it.
Electrons are located in shells and shells makeup orbitals. However, electrons only pair up in orbitals once there’s no space for single electrons in the shells, and this is where electrons are a bit picky in the way they pair up with other electrons because they like to pair up with electrons that have an opposite spin to their own. The spin of an electron is related to its magnetic field and so when two electrons of opposite spin are paired up, their magnetic fields cancel out.
The element Gadolinium, located in the rare earth metals, has the maximum number of unpaired electrons which allows it to be magnetised strongly due to the uncancelled spin of the electrons. This is useful for MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) as Gadolinium can be magnetised quite easily.
MRI machines work by forming a strong magnetic field around the area that is being imaged. This magnetises the tissues in the body and once the magnets are turned off the magnetic field is released which allows the tissues to relax. As Gadolinium is magnetised strongly, it takes longer to return to its relaxed state and this is where MRI machines can pick up on the difference in time. This is useful in locating tumours. By attaching tumour targeting agents to the Gadolinium, doctors will be easily able to locate tumours with ease from the scan as the contrast between tumours and normal flesh becomes more visible.
The possible uses of Gadolinium do not end at just diagnosing tumours. Due to a large number of unpaired electrons in the metal, it can absorb neutrons which normal body tissues cannot do. By absorbing neutrons, the metal becomes radioactive and this can be useful in killing the tumours by shredding it. Although this sort of treatment is dangerous in the body, if doctors are able to find a way to get a tumour to absorb the Gadolinium, then Gadolinium can safely destroy a tumour. Gadolinium is also able to inhibit the tumours from rebuilding by preventing proteins from rebuilding the DNA of a tumour. This sort of treatment using Gadolinium is a much better approach than current treatments such as chemotherapy.
References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gadolinium
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_resonance_imaging
https://stanfordhealthcare.org/medical-tests/p/pet-mri-scan.html
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