A team of researchers at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology has developed a new MRI technique that is ten times faster than standard scanners. With it, they were able to capture the neuromuscular movements of a person singing at 100 frames per second.
To sing or speak, around a hundred different muscles in our chest, neck, jaw, tongue, and lips must work together to produce sound. Taking that as a basis, a group of researchers from the Beckman Institute conducted an in-depth investigation to find out how all these mechanisms work together and how they change with each movement. Using a new technique that is ten times faster than standard MRI scanners, they were able to record a video showing all these muscles working together to produce sound.
Aaron Johnson, a former professional singer and member of the Beckman Institute, volunteered to sing "If I Only Had a Brain" from the classic film The Wizard of Oz to demonstrate the real-time imaging capabilities of the MRI scanner. The technique captures voice movements at 100 frames per second. Despite the excessive noise produced by the MRI during scanning, the audio in the video is clear because the room is equipped with a special microphone that separates the voice from ambient sounds.
The technique that captures real-time MRI images runs at a much faster pace than any other similar technique in the world. While a standard MRI can acquire about 10 frames per second or less, this new technique scans at 100 frames per second without sacrificing image quality. This dynamic imaging is especially useful for studying how quickly the tongue moves, along with other head and neck muscles, during speech and singing.
