Course dates

Dates for the next course in October 2024 to be confirmed.

Venue

The Institute of Cancer Research and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, Downs Road, Sutton, Surrey, UK.

Overview

This course is organised by the Joint Department of Physics of The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and The Institute of Cancer Research, London.

The course has been running at the current venue since 1998. It gives an introduction to methods and applications of biomedical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and spectroscopy, assuming no prior knowledge of the principles of magnetic resonance.

The course is intended to be useful both for NHS physicists who deal with MRI in a clinical setting, and for scientists (such as postdocs and PhD students new to the field) performing research in the field of in vivo NMR. It includes the opportunity to virtually observe measurements demonstrated on one of the Siemens 1.5T MR systems, installed at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust. A provisional lecture list is available below.

The course assumes some familiarity with general principles of physics, but no specific knowledge of magnetic resonance.

Group tutorials are included to give students the opportunity to discuss the material in small groups, and to perform simple exercises to reinforce and extend the teaching of the formal lectures.

The course begins at 9.30am on Monday 16 October 2023, and finishes late afternoon on Wednesday 18 October 2023. One-and-a-half-hour group demonstrations may be included as part of the course on the Monday or Tuesday evenings. 

This is a CPD course approved by IPEM.

Provisional lecture list

• Basis of NMR
• Relaxation Parameters and Spin Echoes
• Magnetic Field Gradients, Slice Selection and Frequency Encoding
• 2D FT Imaging, k-space
• Basic Imaging Sequences: Spin-echo and Gradient Echo
• Hardware - Magnets, Gradients and Eddy Currents
• Image Contrast, Resolution and Factors Affecting Signal-to-Noise
• Hardware - RF Requirements and RF Coils
• MRI in Practice
• Image Artefacts
• Safety Considerations
• Introduction to in vivo MR Spectroscopy
• Single-voxel MRS
• Introduction to Spectroscopic Imaging (CSI)
• MRI in Drug Discovery
• Advanced Pulse Sequences and Techniques
• MRI in Radiotherapy Planning
• Flow and Angiography
• Introduction to Perfusion, Diffusion and Functional MRI
• Clinical Examples of MR

Most lectures will be 45 minutes in duration.

Provisional list of lecturers

• Dr M Blackledge – ICR and RMH, Sutton
• Dr G Charles-Edwards – Guy's and St Thomas Hospitals, London and ICR
• Dr K De Paepe – Cambridge
• Dr S Doran – ICR and RMH, Sutton
• Dr M Graves – Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge
• Dr E Kousi – ICR and RMH, Sutton
• Dr P Murphy – The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson
• Dr M Orton - RMH and ICR, Sutton
• Dr GS Payne – ICR and RMH, Sutton
• Dr M Rata – ICR and RMH, Sutton
• Dr M Schmidt – ICR and RMH, Sutton
• Professor G Barker – Kings College, London
• Dr J Winfield – RMH and ICR, Sutton

Registration & Course fees

Registration Form

All current course registration fees are given on our registration form.

The cost includes lunches and light refreshments. Lecture notes and a certificate of attendance are provided.

You will be allocated a place on receipt of a completed registration form and a valid quoted payment reference/purchase order or completed bank transfer. We are unable to accept provisional bookings.

The number of participants is limited, so early booking is advised.  Applications from outside the UK are welcome.

Closing date for registrations - To be confirmed 

Related documents

Provisional Timetable

Provisional Lecture Synopses

Suggested Reading

Contacts

Course Organiser: Dr Simon Doran

For registration details and any other queries contact:

Course Administrator: Mrs Jessica Keegan