MRI APPARATUS

• US 20080211497A1
• Filed: 01/17/2008
• Published: 09/04/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 01/22/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GE Medical Systems Global Technology Company LLC (GE Healthcare Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: GE Medical Systems Global Technology Company LLC (GE Healthcare Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Iwadate, Yuji, Kanda, Kenichi
• Granted Patent: US 7,834,623 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 324/307
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/5676 Gating or triggering based on an MR signal, e.g. involving one or more navigator echoes for motion monitoring and correction

Abstract

An MRI apparatus includes a navigator device for obtaining information of body motion produced by respiration of a subject by a navigator pulse sequence, and a respiration waveform display device for displaying a respiration waveform on the basis of the body motion information obtained by the navigator device.

Claims

1. An MRI apparatus comprising:

a navigator device for obtaining information of body motion produced by respiration of a subject by a navigator pulse sequence; and

a respiration waveform display device for displaying a respiration waveform on the basis of the body motion information obtained by the navigator device.

9. The MRI apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an operating device used by the operator to enter an instruction for operating the navigator device.

10. The MRI apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a warning device for notifying of a case where the body motion information of the subject obtained by the navigator device is determined as improper body motion information.

14. The MRI apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising a parameter resetting device, in the case where the body motion information is improper, for enabling parameters of the navigator pulse sequence to be reset.

20. The MRI apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the navigator pulse sequence is a pulse sequence of a line scan type, a pulse sequence of a 2D selective excitation type, or a pulse sequence of a phase contrast type.

2. An MRI apparatus comprising:

a navigator device for obtaining information of body motion produced by respiration of a subject by a navigator pulse sequence; and

a respiration cycle display device for displaying a respiration cycle on the basis of the body motion information obtained by the navigator device.

3. The MRI apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the respiration cycle display device displays, as a respiration cycle, an average value of cycle time of body motion within predetermined time.

11. The MRI apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a warning device for notifying of a case where the body motion information of the subject obtained by the navigator device is determined as improper body motion information.

4. An MRI apparatus comprising:

a navigator device for obtaining information of body motion produced by respiration of a subject by a navigator pulse sequence; and

a number-of-respiration-times display device for displaying the number of respiration times per minute on the basis of the body motion information obtained by the navigator device.

12. The MRI apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising a warning device for notifying of a case where the body motion information of the subject obtained by the navigator device is determined as improper body motion information.

5. An MRI apparatus comprising:

a navigator device for obtaining information of body motion produced by respiration of a subject by a navigator pulse sequence; and

an expiration time display device for displaying expiration time on the basis of the body motion information obtained by the navigator device.

6. The MRI apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the expiration time display device uses, as expiration time, lapse time since a respiration waveform passes a predetermined position in an amplitude of a body motion from the inspiration side to the expiration side until the respiration waveform passes the predetermined position from the expiration side to the inspiration side.

7. The MRI apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the expiration time display device displays an average value of expiration time within predetermined time.

8. The MRI apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the expiration time display device displays the minimum value of expiration time within predetermined time.

13. The MRI apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a warning device for notifying of a case where the body motion information of the subject obtained by the navigator device is determined as improper body motion information.

15. An MRI apparatus comprising:

a navigator device for obtaining information of body motion produced by respiration of a subject by a navigator pulse sequence; and

an imaging time optimizing device for optimizing imaging time on the basis of the body motion information obtained by the navigator device.

16. The MRI apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the imaging time optimizing device determines imaging time so that the body motion during the imaging time falls within a predetermined allowable value.

17. The MRI apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the imaging time optimizing device adjusts the number of slices in accordance with the optimized imaging time.

18. An MRI apparatus comprising:

a navigator device for obtaining information of body motion produced by respiration of a subject by a navigator pulse sequence; and

an imaging timing optimizing device for optimizing imaging timing on the basis of the body motion information obtained by the navigator device and set imaging time.

19. The MRI apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the imaging timing optimizing device determines imaging timing so that the body motion during the imaging time becomes the smallest.