Ultrafast optical encoding of magnetic resonance

Temporal resolution in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is limited by the time required to encode the position of spins using time-varying (10–100 ms) magnetic field gradients. Here, we demonstrate spatial encoding of MRI images in a time that is three orders of magnitude shorter than what is possible by conventional gradient encoding techniques. Our method exploits the chemically induced dynamic nuclear polarization (CIDNP) effect and is an initial example of a set of approaches that seek to combine the favorable properties of optical spectroscopy with those of NMR for polarization, encoding, and detection.