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MRI K-Space: How Raw Scanner Data Becomes an Image

Interactive MRI k-space simulator: watch the scanner fill spatial-frequency (k-)space line by line and see the inverse-Fourier-transformed image sharpen in real time. Toggle central vs. peripheral k-space, undersampling and motion artifacts to see exactly what each part of the raw data controls.

Medicine & Biophysics2DModerate60 FPS📱 Mobile-adapted

An MRI scanner does not photograph the body — it measures the spatial-frequency spectrum of the tissue, one line at a time, into a data grid called k-space, and only an inverse Fourier transform turns that raw acquisition into the picture a radiologist reads. This simulator renders both planes as live 3D height-maps: the k-space grid filling in acquisition order on top, and the reconstructed image sharpening beneath it in real time as the transform runs on the data acquired so far. Controls let you undersample lines the way parallel-imaging techniques (SENSE, GRAPPA) accelerate real scans, inject a per-line phase error to reproduce motion-ghosting artifacts, or isolate the center versus the periphery of k-space to see directly that low spatial frequencies carry contrast while high spatial frequencies carry edge detail.

⚙ Under the hood

This simulation allows users to explore the fundamental principles of advanced medical imaging techniques such as MRI and CT scans, providing a hands-on understanding of how these technologies generate diagnostic images.

Advanced ImagingDiagnostic Tools

2D · HTML5 Canvas 2D · 60 FPS target · runs fully client-side, no install