Fat/water separation and fat minimization magnetic resonance imaging systems and methods
First Claim
1. A method for identifying the relative contributions of signals of a first substance and a second substance in a magnetic resonance (“
- MR”
) image, the method comprising;
selecting an image signal model;
selecting a scan parameter;
forming a bias field estimate;
applying a bias correction to a phase image;
estimating the signal fraction of the first substance and the second substance at each of a plurality of voxels; and
forming a suppressed image with respect to the first substance or the second substance.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Systems and methods for identifying the relative contribution of fat and water signals in a magnetic resonance (“MR”) image including an algorithm operable for selecting an image signal model, selecting a scan parameter, forming a bias field estimate, applying a bias correction to a phase image, estimating the signal fraction of fat and water at each of a plurality of voxels, and forming a fat-suppressed image, a water-suppressed image, or a combination of a fat-based image and a water-based image. The (“MRI”) fat suppression systems and methods requiring only a single image acquisition including an algorithm operable for selecting a relative phase of approximately θ=π/2 or another suitable relative phase, employing an expectation maximization algorithm to classify the phase of the complex image, and projecting complex vectors into fat and water components to obtain fat and water images.
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Citations
50 Claims
-
1. A method for identifying the relative contributions of signals of a first substance and a second substance in a magnetic resonance (“
- MR”
) image, the method comprising;
selecting an image signal model;
selecting a scan parameter;
forming a bias field estimate;
applying a bias correction to a phase image;
estimating the signal fraction of the first substance and the second substance at each of a plurality of voxels; and
forming a suppressed image with respect to the first substance or the second substance. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
- MR”
-
21. A magnetic resonance imaging (“
- MRI”
) fat suppression method requiring only a single image acquisition, the method comprising;
selecting a relative phase between θ
>
−
180 degrees and θ
<
180 degrees, excluding θ
=0 degrees;
employing an expectation maximization algorithm to classify the phase of the complex image; and
projecting complex vectors into fat and water components to obtain fat and water images.
- MRI”
-
22. A system operable for identifying the relative contributions of signals of a first substance and a second substance in a magnetic resonance (“
- MR”
) image, the system comprising;
an algorithm operable for;
selecting an image signal model;
selecting a scan parameter;
forming a bias field estimate;
applying a bias correction to a phase image;
estimating the signal fraction of the first substance and the second substance at each of a plurality of voxels; and
forming a suppressed image with respect to the first substance or the second substance. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41)
- MR”
-
42. A magnetic resonance imaging (“
- MRI”
) fat suppression system requiring only a single image acquisition, the system comprising;
an algorithm operable for;
selecting a relative phase between θ
>
−
180 degrees and θ
<
180 degrees, excluding θ
=0 degrees;
employing an expectation maximization algorithm to classify the phase of the complex image; and
projecting complex vectors into fat and water components to obtain fat and water images.
- MRI”
-
43. A method for minimizing a partial volume effect of fat and a chemical shift artifact associated with magnetic resonance (“
- MR”
) imaging, the method comprising;
selecting a predetermined range for the phase inter-relationship between fat and water;
selecting a phase inter-relationship value between fat and water within the predetermined range; and
estimating a tissue parameter using the phase inter-relationship value between fat and water. - View Dependent Claims (44, 45, 46)
- MR”
-
47. A system operable for minimizing a partial volume effect of fat and a chemical shift artifact associated with magnetic resonance (“
- MR”
) imaging, the system comprising;
an algorithm operable for;
selecting a predetermined range for the phase inter-relationship between fat and water;
selecting a phase inter-relationship value between fat and water within the predetermined range; and
estimating a tissue parameter using the phase inter-relationship value between fat and water. - View Dependent Claims (48, 49, 50)
- MR”
Specification