Magnetic resonance imaging apparatus and method facilitating pre-pulse setting

• US 7,808,239 B2
• Filed: 04/18/2008
• Issued: 10/05/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/25/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation (Canon Inc.), Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Miyazaki, Mitsue
• Primary Examiner(s): Shrivastav; Brij B
• Assistant Examiner(s): Vargas; Dixomara
• Application Number:
  US12/081,635
• Publication Number:
  US 20080265884A1
• Time in Patent Office: 900 Days
• Field of Search: 324300-322, 600410-435
• US Class Current: 324/309
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/4838 using spatially selective suppression or saturation of MR signals
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/543 Control of the operation of the MR system, e.g. setting of acquisition parameters prior to or during MR data acquisition, dynamic shimming, use of one or more scout images for scan plane prescription G01R33/546 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/546 Interface between the MR system and the user, e.g. for controlling the operation of the MR system or for the design of pulse sequences
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/5607 by reducing the NMR signal of a particular spin species, e.g. of a chemical species for fat suppression, or of a moving spin species for black-blood imaging
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/5635 Angiography, e.g. contrast-enhanced angiography [CE-MRA] or time-of-flight angiography [TOF-MRA]
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/56366 Perfusion imaging

Abstract

A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus includes an imaging condition setting unit and an image acquisition unit. The imaging condition setting unit includes an input part for inputting an imaging condition with applying plural pre-pulses. The image acquisition unit performs imaging according to the imaging condition and generates an image based on data acquired by the imaging. The imaging condition setting unit includes a display part configured to display an application region and attribute information of at least one pre-pulse of the plural pre-pulses together with a position of the imaging.

Claims

1. A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus comprising:

an imaging condition setting unit including an input part for inputting an imaging condition applying plural pre-pulses which are applied prior to an application of an excitation pulse for acquisition of a nuclear magnetic resonance signal, the input part including a display part configured to display an application region and attribute information of at least one pre-pulse of the plural pre-pulses together with an imaging position; and

an image acquisition unit configured to perform imaging data acquisition according to the input imaging condition and to generate an image based on data acquired by the data acquisition.

2. A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus as in claim 1,

wherein said imaging condition setting unit is configured to display a name or type of an inputted pre-pulse as the attribute information on the display part.

3. A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus as in claim 1,

wherein said imaging condition setting unit is configured to display an application purpose or application effect of an inputted pre-pulse as the attribute information on the display part.

4. A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus as in claim 1,

wherein said imaging condition setting unit is configured to display an application order of inputted pre-pulses as the attribute information on the display part.

5. A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus as in claim 1,

wherein said imaging condition setting unit is configured to display at least one of the attribute information and the application region with a different display form for every inputted pre-pulse or depending on attribution information of an inputted pre-pulse on the display part.

6. A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus as in claim 1,

wherein said imaging condition setting unit is configured to display at least one of the attribute information and the application region with mutually different colors or line types for every inputted pre-pulse or depending on attribution information of an inputted pre-pulse on the display part.

7. A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus as in claim 1,

wherein said imaging condition setting unit is configured to display the application region and the attribute information on the display part together with a scout image or a reference image.

8. A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus as in claim 1,

wherein the pre-pulse is either of a water selective excitation pulse for selectively exciting water, a fat saturation pulse for suppressing fat, a saturation pulse applied precedently to applying a dephasing gradient magnetic field for suppressing signals from a desired matter by saturating spins of the desired matter, a spin labeling pulse for tagging a moving object flowing into an imaging section, a MTC pulse for suppressing signals from a parenchymatous organ by saturating a magnetization of protons in absorbed water and a SORS which is a MTC pulse applied with a slice selection gradient magnetic field.

9. A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus as in claim 1,

wherein said imaging condition setting unit is configured to display an application region of a saturation pulse on the display part with using plural line types for indicating a slice direction when the pre-pulse is the saturation pulse.

10. A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus as in claim 1,

wherein said imaging condition setting unit is configured to display a parameter for determining a pre-pulse having been used for acquiring an image having been acquired in a past on the display part.

11. A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus as in claim 1,

wherein said imaging condition setting unit is configured to display a position tagged by a spin labeling pulse having been used for acquiring an image having been acquired in a past on the display part.

12. A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus comprising:

a frequency spectrum acquisition unit configured to acquire a frequency spectrum of magnetic resonance signals from an object;

an imaging condition setting unit including an input part for inputting an imaging condition with a pre-pulse and a display part configured to display information representing a center frequency of signals from a desired matter and a band of the pre-pulse together with the frequency spectrum; and

an image acquisition unit configured to perform imaging according to the imaging condition and generate an image based on data acquired by the imaging.

13. A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus of claim 12,

wherein said imaging condition setting unit is configured to display information representing a center frequency of water signals or fat signals and a band of a water excitation pulse on the display part when the pre-pulse is the water excitation pulse.

14. A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus of claim 12,

wherein said imaging condition setting unit is configured to display information representing a center frequency of water signals and a band of a fat saturation pulse on the display part when the pre-pulse is the fat saturation pulse.

15. A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus of claim 12,

wherein said imaging condition setting unit is configured to display a full width at half max of application intensity of the pre-pulse in a frequency direction on the display part.

16. A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus of claim 12,

wherein said imaging condition setting unit is configured to update both of the information representing the center frequency of the signals from the desired matter and the band of the pre-pulse to be displayed on the display part according to information for shifting either of the information representing the center frequency of the signals from the desired matter and the band of the pre-pulse when the information for the shifting is inputted from the input part.

17. A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus comprising:

an imaging condition setting unit configured to set an imaging condition for applying plural pre-pulses which are applied prior to an application of an excitation pulse for acquisition of a nuclear magnetic resonance signal and include an input part for inputting at least one of application regions and attribute information of the plural pre-pulses, a display part configured to display at least one of the application regions and the attribute information of the plural pre-pulses, and a determining part configured to determine an application order of the plural pre-pulses based on the attribute information inputted with the input part; and

an image acquisition unit configured to perform imaging according to the imaging condition and generate an image based on data acquired by the imaging.

18. A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus as in claim 17,

wherein said determining part is configured to determine the application order so as to apply a desired pre-pulse within the plural pre-pulses just before an excitation pulse for the imaging.

19. A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus as in claim 17,

wherein said display part is configured to display at least one of application purposes and application effects of the plural pre-pulses as the attribute information.

20. A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus as in claim 17,

wherein said determining part is configured to set an application order of a pre-pulse of which application purpose is suppression of vein signals so as to be just before an excitation pulse for the imaging.

21. A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus for generating a MRI image based on an echo signal with regard to spins included in an imaging region on an object, said apparatus comprising:

an imaging condition setting unit for setting an imaging condition for tagging blood flowing into the imaging region;

an imaging unit configured to apply an inversion pulse for exciting the imaging region selectively, a tagging pulse for inverting spins included in a tagged region of the imaging region following the inversion pulse and a saturation pulse for saturating spins of blood flowing into a part region in the imaging region according to the imaging condition to acquire the echo signal after a constant period from applying the tagging pulse, the tagging pulse and the saturation pulse being applied prior to an application of an excitation pulse for acquisition of a nuclear magnetic resonance signal;

a generating unit configured to generate a blood vessel image of the imaging region based on the echo signal; and

a display unit configured to display the imaging region, an application region of the tagging pulse and an application region of the saturation pulse together with at least one of a name of the application region of the tagging pulse, a name of the application region of the saturation pulse, an application purpose of the tagging pulse, an application purpose of the saturation pulse, an application order of the tagging pulse and an application order of the saturation pulse to assist setting the imaging condition.

22. A magnetic resonance imaging method comprising use of at lest one computer in an MRI system to effect:

inputting, with an input device, an imaging condition for applying plural pre-pulses which are applied prior to an application of an excitation pulse for acquisition of a nuclear magnetic resonance signal;

displaying, with a display unit, an application region and attribute information of at least one pre-pulse of the plural pre-pulses together with an imaging position; and

performing, with at least one computer, imaging according to the imaging data acquisition condition and generating an image based on data acquired by the imaging data acquisition.