MRI hardware includes the electrical and mechanical components of a scanning device.
The main hardware components for the MRI machine are:
The magnet establishing the B0 field to align the spins.
Within the magnet are the gradient coils for producing variations in B0 in the X, Y, and Z directions to make a localization of the received data possible.
Within the gradient coil or directly on the object being imaged is the radio frequency (RF) coil. This RF coil is used to establish the B1 magnetic field necessary to excite the spinning nuclei. The RF coil also detects the signal emitted from the spins within the object being imaged.
The RF amplifier increases the power of the pulses.
The analog to digital converter converts the received analog raw data into digital values.
Depending on the design of the device and the body part being imaged the patient is positioned inside the magnet (e.g. on a movable table or standing upright).
The MRI scan room is surrounded by a RF shield (Faraday cage).
In addition, a computer console, a display, and a film printer belong to the MRI equipment.

See also the related poll result: 'Most outages of your scanning system are caused by failure of'

The schematic figures of a pulse sequence timing diagram illustrate the steps of basic hardware activity that are incorporated into a pulse sequence. Time during sequence execution is indicated along the horizontal axes. Each line belongs to a different hardware component. One line is needed for the radio frequency transmitter and also one for each gradient (G_s = slice selection gradient x, G_f = phase encoding gradient y, G_f = frequency encoding gradient z, also called readout gradient).
In picture 1, a timing diagram for a 2D pulse sequence is shown.
Slice selection and signal detection are repeated in duration, relative timing and amplitude, each time the sequence is repeated. A single phase encoding component is present each time the sequence is executed.
Additional lines are added for ADC (Analog to Digital Converter) and sampling. A gradient pulse is shown as a deviation above or below the horizontal line. Simultaneous component activities such as the RF pulse and slice selection gradient are indicated as a non-zero deviation from both lines at the same horizontal position. Simple deviations from zero show constant amplitude gradient pulse. Gradient amplitudes that change during the measurement, e.g. phase encoding are represented as hatched regions.

The second picture shows a timing diagram for a 3D pulse sequence.
Volume excitation and signal detection are repeated in duration, relative timing and amplitude, each time the sequence is repeated. Two phase encoding components are present, one in the phase encoding direction and the other in slice selection direction (irrespectively incremented in amplitude) in each time the sequence is executed. A description of the comparison of hardware activity between different pulse sequences.

Hardware components from MRI systems. The radio frequency (RF) amplifier increases the power (measured in Watt) of the pulses from mW to kW and the gradient amplifier increases the power of the gradient pulses for the gradient coils.

See also Hardware.

An image artifact is a structure not normally present but visible as a result of a limitation or malfunction in the hardware or software of the MRI device, or in other cases a consequence of environmental influences as heat or humidity or it can be caused by the human body (blood flow, implants etc.). The knowledge of MRI artifacts (brit. artefacts) and noise producing factors is important for continuing maintenance of high image quality. Artifacts may be very noticeable or just a few pixels out of balance but can give confusing artifactual appearances with pathology that may be misdiagnosed.
Changes in patient position, different pulse sequences, metallic artifacts, or other imaging variables can cause image distortions, which can be reduced by the operator; artifacts due to the MR system may require a service engineer.
Many types of artifacts may occur in magnetic resonance imaging. Artifacts in magnetic resonance imaging are typically classified as to their basic principles, e.g.:
Several techniques are developed to reduce these artifacts (e.g. respiratory compensation, cardiac gating, eddy current compensation) but sometimes these effects can also be exploited, e.g. for flow measurements.

See also the related poll result: 'Most outages of your scanning system are caused by failure of'

A coil consists of one or more loops of conductive wire, looped around the core of the coil. Coils are part of the hardware of MRI machines and are used to create a magnetic field or to detect a changing magnetic field by voltage induced in the wire. A coil is usually a physically small antenna.
The perfect coil produces a uniform magnetic field without significant radiation.
Different types of MRI coils are used in MR systems:
Gradient coils are used to produce controlled variations in the main magnetic field (B0) to provide spatial localization of the signals and to apply reversal pulses in some imaging techniques.
MR imaging radio frequency coils to receive and/or transmit the RF signal.
Shim coils provide auxiliary magnetic fields in order to compensate for inhomogeneities in the main magnetic field of the MRI machine.

See also Gradient Coil, Radio Frequency Coil, Hardware and Coil Loading.

See also the related POLL result: '3rd party coils are better than the original manufacturer coils'