Method and apparatus for magnetic resonance imaging of arteries using a magnetic resonance contrast agent
First Claim
1. A method of imaging an artery of a patient using magnetic resonance imaging, the method comprising,detecting the arrival of an administered magnetic resonance contrast agent in a region of interest;
- and performing an imaging sequence to image a portion of the artery, including collecting image data which is representative of a substantial portion of a center of k-space after detecting the arrival of the administered magnetic resonance contrast agent in the region of interest.
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Abstract
The present invention is a technique and apparatus for providing preferential enhancement of an artery of interest relative to adjacent veins and background tissue by correlating the collection of a predetermined portion of data of a magnetic resonance contrast image during the arterial phase of the magnetic resonance contrast enhancement. The arterial phase of the contrast enhancement may be described as a period of a maximum, substantially elevated, or elevated contrast concentration in the artery of interest relative to adjacent veins.
The present invention includes a detection system for monitoring and detecting the arrival of the contrast agent in the artery and tissues of interest. When the concentration of contrast agent in the artery of the region of interest is maximum, substantially elevated or elevated (e.g., about 20-50% greater than the response of the region of interest to a series of magnetic resonance pulses before administration of a magnetic resonance contrast agent), a predetermined portion of the magnetic resonance image data (e.g., data which is representative of the center of k-space) may be acquired. Thus, the present invention facilitates synchronization between collecting the central portion of k-space image data with the arterial phase of contrast enhancement. The center of k-space corresponds to the lowest spatial frequency data which dominates image contrast.
109 Citations
24 Claims
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1. A method of imaging an artery of a patient using magnetic resonance imaging, the method comprising,
detecting the arrival of an administered magnetic resonance contrast agent in a region of interest; - and
performing an imaging sequence to image a portion of the artery, including collecting image data which is representative of a substantial portion of a center of k-space after detecting the arrival of the administered magnetic resonance contrast agent in the region of interest. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method of imaging an artery of a patient using magnetic resonance imaging, the method comprising,
administering a magnetic resonance contrast agent; -
detecting a predetermined concentration of the magnetic resonance contrast agent in a region of interest; and
imaging at least a portion of the artery including collecting image data which is representative of at least a portion of a center of k-space after detecting the predetermined concentration of the contrast agent in the region of interest and while the concentration of the contrast agent in the artery is higher than a concentration of the contrast agent in veins adjacent to the artery. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method of imaging an artery of a patient using magnetic resonance imaging, the method comprising,
monitoring a region of interest to detect the arrival of an administered magnetic resonance contrast agent in the region of interest; -
initiating a 3D imaging sequence after detecting the arrival of the administering magnetic resonance contrast agent in the region of interest; and
collecting image data which is representative of a central portion of k-space substantially at the beginning of the 3D imaging sequence. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification