Lecture Notes

I have given several MR related courses over the years, mostly introductory MRI and NMR. Below you can find the lecture notes for these classes. You can use them and share them free of charge. If you want to use a figure or plot in a talk or presentation, feel free to do so as long as you attribute the source. However, these may not be used for any commercial purpose. 

Imaging the Brain using MRI: From Physics to Applications (Fall 2021)

Assignments

Assignments are due on a weekly basis. Although they will not be graded, you are expected to hand in 80% of the assignents prior to the final exam. You will need to show effort and, if something is unclear and you don't solve it for some reason, you will need to note what exactly is unclear in the exercise you hand in.

NMR Primer 2015
Assignment Due Link  Solution
1 Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021 PDF  PDF
2 Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021 PDF PDF
3 Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2021 PDF PDF
4 Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021 PDF PDF
5 Thursdsay, Dec. 16, 2021 PDF PDF
6 Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2021 PDF PDF
7 Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2021 PDF PDF
Mock Exam No Due Date PDF N/A

 

Lecture Notes

NMR Primer 2015
Lecture Author Topic Link
1 Assaf Tal Mathematical Preliminaries PDF
2 Assaf Tal Basic Concepts in Imaging PDF
3 Assaf Tal MRI as a Black Box PDF
4 Assaf Tal Spin Dynamics PDF
5 Assaf Tal Excitation and Acquisition PDF
6 Assaf Tal Principles of Imaging PDF
7 Assaf Tal Image Reconstruction PDF
8 Assaf Tal T1 and T2 Contrast PDF
9 Assaf Tal Modeling T1 and T2 PDF

NMR Primer (Weizmann Institute, Fall 2015)

This was my second go at the NMR Primer course, and it differs substantially from the first go given a year earlier. I've opted to start out with the full quantum mechanical treatment of spins, which changed the flavor of the course quite a bit. My third iteration would probably be even more quantum mechanical. Some day ...

NMR Primer 2015
Lecture Author Topic Link
1 Assaf Tal Quantum Mechanics PDF
2 Assaf Tal NMR Interactions PDF
3 Assaf Tal 1D NMR PDF
4 Assaf Tal J-Coupling PDF
5 Assaf Tal Relaxation PDF
6 Assaf Tal 2D NMR PDF

MRI: Physical Principles and Applications (Weizmann Institute, Spring 2014)

The second iteration of my MRI course is very different in style from the first, given 5 years earlier. The scope however remained similar. Some topics were expanded and presented in more detail.

MRI Lecture Notes 2014
Lecture Author Topic Link
1 Assaf Tal Mathematical Preliminaries PDF
2 Assaf Tal Fundamentals of Imaging PDF
3 Assaf Tal MRI As A Black Box PDF
4 Assaf Tal Spin Dynamics PDF
5 Assaf Tal Excitation and Acquisition PDF
6 Assaf Tal Imaging PDF
7 Assaf Tal Basic Image Reconstruction PDF
8 Assaf Tal T1 and T2 Contrast PDF
9 Assaf Tal T1 and T2 Modeling PDF
10 Assaf Tal Signal to Noise PDF

NMR Primer (Weizmann Institute, Fall 2014)

NMR Primer Lecture Notes 2015
Lecture Author Topic Link
1 Assaf Tal Basic Spin Physics PDF
2 Assaf Tal The Pulse-Acquire Experiment PDF
3 Assaf Tal Practical 1D NMR PDF
4 Assaf Tal Quantum Mechanics PDF
5 Assaf Tal J Coupling PDF
6 Assaf Tal Relaxation PDF
7 Assaf Tal 2D NMR PDF
8 Assaf Tal Chemical Exchange PDF

MRI (Weizmann Institute, Spring 2009)

I gave an earlier version of my MRI course while still a postdoc at the Weizmann Institute. The course was delivered alongside Prof. Lucio Frydman, who gave some of the later talks. It's pretty different from my later course on MRI, and has a more informal vibe to it. 

MRI Lecture Notes (2009)
Lecture Author Description Link
1 Assaf Tal Basic spin physics PDF
2 Assaf Tal Spin dynamics and the Bloch Equations PDF
3 Assaf Tal Spin thermodynamics PDF
4 Assaf Tal Field gradients PDF
5 Assaf Tal The Fourier transform PDF
6 Assaf Tal k-space PDF
7 Assaf Tal Resolution, aliasing and sampling PDF
8 Assaf Tal Selective pulses PDF
9 Assaf Tal Gradient and spin echo sequences PDF
10 Lucio Frydman In vivo spectroscopy PDF
11 Assaf Tal Signal to noise PDF
12 Lucio Frydman Flow PDF
13 Lucio Frydman Contrast in MRI PDF