ABSTRACT
This chapter contains a range of background information that is assumed in the later chapters of the book. Few people, however, will want to work through the whole chapter in detail before starting to read about magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in Chapter 3. The best approach is to skim through this chapter on first reading the book, so that you have a rough idea of what it covers. Then refer back to it when required. Four subjects are covered. The first and longest section concerns mathematics. Concepts including vectors, the exponential function, and Fourier analysis are included here. There is also a table that highlights where in the book the mathematical concepts are applied. The second subject is physics. Just a few areas are included to underpin the discussion of the basic principles of MRI in Chapter 3. Concepts associated with digital images (such as the pixel and signal-to-noise ratio) are outlined in the third section. The chapter closes with definitions of key clinical imaging terms. Multiple-choice questions on all of this material are included in Chapter 11.
