System and method for reducing specific absorption rate in magnetization transfer magnetic resonance imaging

• US 10,310,031 B2
• Filed: 11/03/2016
• Issued: 06/04/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 11/03/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The General Hospital Corporation (Mass General Brigham, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: The General Hospital Corporation (Mass General Brigham, Inc.)
• Inventors: Guerin, Bastien, Wald, Lawrence L
• Primary Examiner(s): Hollington, Jermele M
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pothen, Feba
• Application Number:
  US15/342,205
• Publication Number:
  US 20170123022A1
• Time in Patent Office: 943 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/288 Provisions within MR facilities for enhancing safety during MR, e.g. reduction of the specific absorption rate [SAR], detection of ferromagnetic objects in the scanner room
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/5605 by transferring coherence or polarization from a spin species to another, e.g. creating magnetization transfer contrast [MTC], polarization transfer using nuclear Overhauser enhancement [NOE]
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/5612 Parallel RF transmission, i.e. RF pulse transmission using a plurality of independent transmission channels

Abstract

Described here are a system and method for designing radio frequency (“RF”) pulses for parallel transmission (“pTx”) applications, and particularly pTx applications in magnetization transfer (“MT”) magnetic resonance imaging (“MRI”). The concept of “SAR hopping” is implemented using a constrained optimization problem that simultaneously designs multiple RF sub-pulses to maximize power deposition in a bound proton pool while also minimizing local SAR across multiple bound proton pool excitation frequencies. This results in the set of RF waveforms that yield the best excitation profiles for all pulses while ensuring that the local SAR of the average of all pulses is below the regulatory limit imposed by the FDA. Pulses are designed simultaneously while constraining local SAR, global SAR, and peak voltage, explicitly.

Claims

1. A method for designing parallel transmission (pTx) radio frequency (RF) pulses for use in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the steps of the method comprising:

(a) selecting a plurality of resonance frequencies associated with a population of spins having a broad resonance frequency spectrum, wherein the population of spins is associated with a bound proton pool;

(b) providing an RF transmission profile for each of a plurality of transmit channels associated with a multichannel RF coil array;

(c) selecting a set of compressed specific absorption rate (SAR) matrices at which SAR can be evaluated;

(d) designing a plurality of RF pulses for achieving a desired saturation of the population of spins by determining a set of RF waveforms that maximize power deposition to the population of spins at the selected resonance frequencies while minimizing an average local SAR of the plurality of RF pulses evaluated at the compressed SAR matrices, wherein the power deposition to the population of spins is determined based on the selected plurality of resonance frequencies and the RF transmission profiles.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the average local SAR is evaluated across the plurality of resonance frequencies.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein step (d) includes maximizing a flip angle of the plurality of RF pulses.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the selected set of compressed SAR matrices define a sparse sampling of SAR matrices.

5. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein step (d) includes minimizing the average local SAR of the plurality of RF pulses evaluated at the compressed SAR matrices using a constraint defined as,

6. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the set of RF waveforms determined in step (d) also minimize a global SAR of each RF pulse evaluated at the compressed SAR matrices.

7. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the set of RF waveforms determined in step (d) also minimize a peak voltage in each of the transmit channels.

8. The method as recited in claim 1 in which the set of RF waveforms determined in step (d) also minimize a global SAR of each RF pulse evaluated at the compressed SAR matrices and a peak voltage in each of the transmit channels.

9. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein step (c) includes selecting the set of compressed SAR matrices using a method that defines the compressed SAR matrices as virtual observation points (VOPs).

10. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein providing the RF transmission profile for each of a plurality of transmit channels includes estimating each RF transmission profile from data acquired with the MM system.

11. A magnetic resonance imaging (MM) system, comprising:

a magnet system configured to generate a polarizing magnetic field about at least a portion of a subject arranged in the MRI system;

a plurality of gradient coils configured to apply at least one magnetic gradient field to the polarizing magnetic field;

a radio frequency (RF) system including a multichannel RF coil array configured to apply an RF field to the subject and to receive magnetic resonance signals therefrom;

a computer system programmed to;

select a plurality of resonance frequencies associated with a population of spins having a broad resonance frequency spectrum;

provide an RF transmission profile for each of a plurality of transmit channels associated with the multichannel RF coil array;

select a set of compressed specific absorption rate (SAR) matrices at which SAR can be evaluated;

design a plurality of RF pulses for achieving a desired magnetization transfer effect by determining a set of RF waveforms that maximize power deposition to the population of spins while minimizing an average local SAR of the plurality of RF pulses evaluated at the compressed SAR matrices, wherein the power deposition to the population of spins is determined based on the selected plurality of resonance frequencies and the RF transmission profiles; and

direct the RF system to produce the plurality of RF pulses using the determined set of RF waveforms, such that a desired saturation effect is generated in the population of spins.

12. The MRI system as recited in claim 11, wherein the population of spins is associated with a bound proton pool.

13. The MRI system as recited in claim 11, wherein the computer system is programmed to select the set of compressed SAR matrices to define a sparse sampling of SAR matrices.

14. The MRI system as recited in claim 13, wherein the computer system is programmed to compute the compressed SAR matrices as virtual observation points (VOPs).

15. The MRI system as recited in claim 14, wherein the computer system is programmed to determine the set of RF waveforms by minimizing the average local SAR of the plurality of RF pulses evaluated at the compressed SAR matrices using a constraint defined as,

16. The MRI system as recited in claim 11, wherein the computer system is configured to determine the set of RF waveforms that also minimize a global SAR of each RF pulse evaluated at the compressed SAR matrices.

17. The MRI system as recited in claim 11, wherein the computer system is configured to determine the set of RF waveforms that also minimize a peak voltage in each of the transmit channels.

18. The MRI system as recited in claim 11, wherein the computer system is configured to determine the set of RF waveforms that also minimize a global SAR of each RF pulse evaluated at the compressed SAR matrices and a peak voltage in each of the transmit channels.