METHOD AND DEVICE FOR AUTOMATED GENERATION OF A FORMAL DESCRIPTION OF A MAGNETIC RESONANCE SYSTEM MEASUREMENT SEQUENCE, USING A SEQUENCE MODEL
First Claim
1. A method for formalized description of a measurement sequence, said measurement sequence being executable by a magnetic resonance scanner, said method comprising the steps of:
- formulating a sequence model for a measurement sequence, said sequence model being comprised of blocks selected from the group consisting of a warp block and an X block, and a pause block, and depicting said sequence model as a directed graph comprising at least nodes, edges between said nodes, and properties of said edges for workflow control of the directed graph, said nodes being formed from the group consisting of said X blocks, an entrance point, and an exit point;
providing said sequence model to a processor and, in said processor, automatically parameterizing said measurement sequence using said directed graph, except for a predetermined set of parameters that must still be parameterized; and
making the measurement sequence, parameterized from said directed graph except for said predetermined set of parameters, available from said processor as an output.
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Abstract
A magnetic resonance sequence model that is a formal description of a measurement sequence is used to automate measurement sequence programming. The sequence model allows a system-independent specification of the measurement sequence for execution in a magnetic resonance scanner. The sequence model is as formal as possible; it is limited to the minimum required information for description of a measurement sequence without limiting the flexibility in the sequence programming. A method for formal description of the measurement sequence describes the measurement sequence by a number of parameters to be parameterized. The parameterization of the measurement sequence can ensue automatically from the formalized description of the measurement sequence, except for a set of parameters that are still be determined. For automatic generation of an executable measurement sequence, the method determines the parameters to be determined using a solver, under consideration of boundary conditions, so that a consistent set of parameters is created that completely describes the measurement sequence. This complete description of parameter values of the measurement sequence is then be translated automatically into a programming language that can be directly executed in the magnetic resonance scanner.
44 Citations
24 Claims
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1. A method for formalized description of a measurement sequence, said measurement sequence being executable by a magnetic resonance scanner, said method comprising the steps of:
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formulating a sequence model for a measurement sequence, said sequence model being comprised of blocks selected from the group consisting of a warp block and an X block, and a pause block, and depicting said sequence model as a directed graph comprising at least nodes, edges between said nodes, and properties of said edges for workflow control of the directed graph, said nodes being formed from the group consisting of said X blocks, an entrance point, and an exit point; providing said sequence model to a processor and, in said processor, automatically parameterizing said measurement sequence using said directed graph, except for a predetermined set of parameters that must still be parameterized; and making the measurement sequence, parameterized from said directed graph except for said predetermined set of parameters, available from said processor as an output. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method for formalized description of a measurement sequence, said measurement sequence being executable by a magnetic resonance scanner, said method comprising the steps of:
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formulating a sequence model for a measurement sequence, said sequence model being comprised of blocks selected from the group consisting of a warp block and an X block, and a pause block, and depicting said sequence model as a directed graph comprising at least nodes, edges between said nodes, and properties of said edges for workflow control of the directed graph, said nodes being formed from the group consisting of said X blocks, an entrance point, and an exit point; providing said sequence model to a processor and, in said processor, automatically parameterizing said measurement sequence using said directed graph, except for a predetermined set of parameters that must still be parameterized; making the measurement sequence, parameterized from said directed graph except for said predetermined set of parameters, available from said processor as an output; providing said measurement sequence parameterized from said directed graph, except for said predetermined set of parameters, to a solver; providing boundary conditions to said solver that must be satisfied for execution of said measurement sequence by said magnetic resonance scanner; in said solver, automatically determining, dependent on said boundary conditions, timing values for each warp block and each X block in said measurement sequence, and determining permissible values for said predetermined set of parameters, to generate a complete formal description of said measurement sequence comprising said measurement sequence parameterized from said directed graph, said timing values, and said permissible values for said predetermined set of parameters; and in said solver, automatically translating said formal description of said measurement sequence into a series of time slices in a form executable by said magnetic resonance scanner, and making said series of time slices available at an output of said solver. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18)
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19. A device for formalized description of a measurement sequence, said measurement sequence being executable by a magnetic resonance scanner, said device comprising:
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a sequence model interface configured to receive a sequence model for a measurement sequence, said sequence model being comprised of blocks selected from the group consisting of a warp block and an X block, and a pause block; a processor that generates and depicts said sequence model as a directed graph comprising at least nodes, edges, between said nodes, and properties of said edges for workflow control of the directed graph, said nodes being formed from the group consisting of said X blocks, an entrance point, and an exit point; said processor comprising a parameterization module that automatically parameterizes said measurement sequence using said directed graph, except for a predetermined set of parameters that must still be parameterized; and said processor being configured to make the measurement sequence, parameterized from said directed graph except for said predetermined set of parameters, available from said processor as an output.
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20. A device for formalized description of a measurement sequence, said measurement sequence being executable by a magnetic resonance scanner, said device comprising the steps of:
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a sequence model interface configured to receive a sequence model for a measurement sequence, said sequence model being comprised of blocks selected from the group consisting of a warp block and an X block and a pause block; a processor that generates and depicts at a monitor associated with said processor, said sequence model as a directed graph comprising at least nodes, edges, between said nodes, and properties of said edges for workflow control of the directed graph, said nodes being formed from the group consisting of said X blocks, an entrance point, and an exit point; comprising a parameterization module that said processor automatically parameterizes said measurement sequence using said directed graph, except for a predetermined set of parameters that must still be parameterized; said processor being configured to make the measurement sequence, parameterized from said directed graph except for said predetermined set of parameters, available from said processor as an output; a solver having a measurement sequence interface configured to receive said measurement sequence parameterized from said directed graph, accept for said predetermined set of parameters, from said processor; said solver comprising a boundary conditions interface configured to receive boundary conditions that must be satisfied for execution of said measurement sequence by said magnetic resonance scanner; said solver being configured to automatically determine, dependent on said boundary conditions, timing values for each warp block and each X block in said measurement sequence, and to determine permissible values for said predetermined set of parameters, to generate a complete formal description of said measurement sequence comprising said measurement sequence parameterized from said directed graph, said timing values, and said permissible values for said predetermined set of parameters; and said solver being configured to automatically translate said formal description of said measurement sequence into a series of time slices in a form executable by said magnetic resonance scanner, and to make said series of time slices available at an output of said solver. - View Dependent Claims (21)
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22. A computer-readable medium encoded with programming instructions for formalized description of a measurement sequence, said measurement sequence being executable by a magnetic resonance scanner, said programming instructions causing computerized devices to:
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formulate a sequence model for a measurement sequence, said sequence model being comprised of blocks selected from the group consisting of a warp block and an X block, and a pause block, and depict said sequence model as a directed graph comprising at least nodes, edges between said nodes, and properties of said edges for workflow control of the directed graph, said nodes being formed from the group consisting of said X blocks, an entrance point, and an exit point; automatically parameterize said measurement sequence using said directed graph, except for a predetermined set of parameters that must still be parameterized; and make the measurement sequence, parameterized from said directed graph except for said predetermined set of parameters, available as an output from one of said computerized devices.
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23. A computer-readable medium encoded with program instructions for formalized description of a measurement sequence, said measurement sequence being executable by a magnetic resonance scanner, said method said programming instructions causing computerized devices to:
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formulate a sequence model for a measurement sequence, said sequence model being comprised of blocks selected from the group consisting of a warp block and an X block, and a pause block, and depict said sequence model as a directed graph comprising at least nodes, edges between said nodes, and properties of said edges for workflow control of the directed graph, said nodes being formed from the group consisting of said X blocks, an entrance point, and an exit point; automatically parameterize said measurement sequence using said directed graph, except for a predetermined set of parameters that must still be parameterized; automatically determine, dependent on said boundary conditions, timing values for each warp block and each X block in said measurement sequence, and determining permissible values for said predetermined set of parameters, to generate a complete formal description of said measurement sequence comprising said measurement sequence parameterized from said directed graph, said timing values, and said permissible values for said predetermined set of parameters; and automatically translate said formal description of said measurement sequence into a series of time slices in a form executable by said magnetic resonance scanner, and make said series of time slices available at an output from one of said computerized devices.
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24. A magnetic resonance system comprising:
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a magnetic resonance scanner having a control unit; a sequence model interface configured to receive a sequence model for a measurement sequence executable by said magnetic resonance scanner, said sequence model being comprised of blocks selected from the group consisting of a warp block and an X block and a pause block; a processor that generates and depicts at a monitor associated with said processor, said sequence model as a directed graph comprising at least nodes, edges, between said nodes, and properties of said edges for workflow control of the directed graph, said nodes being formed from the group consisting of said X blocks, an entrance point, and an exit point; comprising a parameterization module that said processor automatically parameterizes said measurement sequence using said directed graph, except for a predetermined set of parameters that must still be parameterized; said processor being configured to make the measurement sequence, parameterized from said directed graph except for said predetermined set of parameters, available from said processor as an output; a solver having a measurement sequence interface configured to receive said measurement sequence parameterized from said directed graph, accept for said predetermined set of parameters, from said processor; said solver comprising a boundary conditions interface configured to receive boundary conditions that must be satisfied for execution of said measurement sequence by said magnetic resonance scanner; said solver being configured to automatically determine, dependent on said boundary conditions, timing values for each warp block and each X block in said measurement sequence, and to determine permissible values for said predetermined set of parameters, to generate a complete formal description of said measurement sequence comprising said measurement sequence parameterized from said directed graph, said timing values, and said permissible values for said predetermined set of parameters; said solver being configured to automatically translate said formal description of said measurement sequence into a series of time slices in a form executable by said magnetic resonance scanner, and to supply said series of time slices in said form to said control unit; and said control unit operating said magnetic resonance scanner according to the time slices supplied thereto by said solver.
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Specification