The integration of real and virtual magnetic resonance imaging experiments in a single instrument.

We present the design of an integrated system for performing both real and virtual (simulated) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) experiments. We emphasize the approaches used to maximize the level of integration and also the benefits that tight real-virtual integration brings for a scientific instrument. The system has been implemented for both low field (0.2 T) and high field (9.4 T) imaging systems. The simulations can run for any MRI experiment and we demonstrate the operation of the system for T(1), T(2), T(2) ( *), and diffusion contrasts.