Assoc Prof Lars G. Hanson has developed an educational tool, the Bloch Simulator, for teaching and learning MR imaging and NMR.
The Bloch Simulator offers interactive exploration of the MR phenomenon and infinite possibilities for experimenting with a wide range of MR techniques. The dynamics of 3D magnetization vectors are visualized as the user interactively chooses sequence events such as RF and gradient pulses.
The Bloch Simulator has been widely used by the international MR community for years for learning and teaching MR, and has now undergone extensive revision. It was originally made to run in any web browser, but due to evolving web technologies a complete rewrite became pertinent (Flash being replaced by JavaScript/HTML). A version is now released that offers many new and improved possibilities and has a simplified user interface. This allows the Bloch Simulator to be run as a free app on mobile devices, currently Android™ devices, which may be important for student use during lectures, for example.
The simulator is named after Nobel laureate Felix Bloch, who also appears on the Bloch Simulator app icon. He and Edward Mills Purcell were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1952 for their development of new ways and methods for nuclear magnetic precision measurements.
The top image shows the simulator in action for demonstrating T1-weighting resulting from repeated excitation following spoiling.
Instructions for the Bloch Simulation: http://www.drcmr.dk/new-bloch-simulator.
Try out the simulator here: http://drcmr.dk/BlochSimulator/.