**1.1 Image acquisition**

MRI produces images of the insides of the body. Unlike an X-ray, MRI does not use radiation. Instead, a magnetic field is used to make the body's cells vibrate [1]. The vibrations give off electrical signals which are interpreted and turned into very detailed images of "slices" of the body. MRI may be used to make images of every part of the body, including the bones, joints, blood vessels, nerves, muscles and organs. Different types of tissue show up in different grayscale intensities on a computer-generated image. In this study, series of MRI images were acquired from the Diagnostic Imaging Department of Selayang Hospital, Malaysia, using a Siemens Magnetom Avanto, 1.5T MRI Scanner. The sample liver MRI images (256 X 256 pixels, 12 bps) were acquired consisting of sets of cyst, liver tumor and healthy liver, for training and testing.
