ezyMRI: How to build an MRI machine from scratch -- Experience from a four-day hackathon

TL;DR

This paper describes a four-day hackathon where international teams collaboratively built a functional MRI machine from scratch, demonstrating the feasibility of DIY MRI construction through teamwork and rapid prototyping.

Contribution

It presents a practical, step-by-step account of building an MRI device in a short timeframe, highlighting challenges and solutions encountered during the process.

Findings

A working MRI was assembled in three days by six teams.

Team collaboration enabled rapid problem-solving and system integration.

The project demonstrates the potential for DIY MRI development.

Abstract

Nuclear magnetic resonance instruments are becoming available to the do-it-yourself community. The challenges encountered in the endeavor to build a magnetic resonance imaging instrument from scratch were confronted in a four-day hackathon at Singapore University of Technology and Design in spring 2024. One day was devoted to educational lectures and three days to system construction and testing. Seventy young researchers from all parts of the world formed six teams focusing on magnet, gradient coil, RF coil, console, system integration, and design, which together produced a working MRI instrument in three days. The different steps, encountered challenges, and their solutions are reported.