Magnetic resonance imaging apparatus and magnetic resonance imaging method

• US 7,906,963 B2
• Filed: 06/09/2009
• Issued: 03/15/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/26/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation (Canon Inc.), Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Yui, Masao
• Primary Examiner(s): Arana; Louis M
• Application Number:
  US12/457,369
• Publication Number:
  US 20090251143A1
• Time in Patent Office: 644 Days
• Field of Search: 324/307, 324/309
• US Class Current: 324/307
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/4824 using a non-Cartesian trajectory
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/4828 Resolving the MR signals of different chemical species, e.g. water-fat imaging
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/4835 of multiple slices
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/5602 by filtering or weighting based on different relaxation times within the sample, e.g. T1 weighting using an inversion pulse
• 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 33/5614 using a fully balanced steady-state free precession [bSSFP] pulse sequence, e.g. trueFISP
• 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 a data acquisition unit and an image data generating unit. The data acquisition unit acquires data according to a sequence derived by adding a coherent control pulse on a Steady-State Free Precession pulse sequence for repeating plural radio frequency excitations with a constant interval. The coherent control pulse has a center at a substantially center time between adjacent radio frequency excitations and a zero-order moment of which amount is zero. The image data generating unit generates image data based on the data.

Claims

1. A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus comprising:

a data acquisition unit configured to acquire data according to a sequence derived by adding a coherent control pulse on a Steady-State Free Precession pulse sequence for repeating plural radio frequency excitations with a constant interval, the coherent control pulse having a zero-order moment of which amount is zero; and

an image data generating unit configured to generate image data based on the data.

2. The magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein said data acquisition unit is configured to acquire the data with setting an application phase of the coherent control pulse to a same phase as one of a radio frequency excitation pulse applied just before an application of the coherent control pulse.

3. The magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein said data acquisition unit is configured to acquire the data with adding a set of plural coherent control pulses.

4. The magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to claim 3,

wherein said data acquisition unit is configured to acquire the data according to a sequence with adding a first fat-saturation pulse and the second fat-saturation pulse and a second interval between application timings of the second fat-saturation pulse and a desired imaging pulse being determined so as to obtain fat suppression effect at a time for applying the desired imaging pulse.

5. The magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to claim 3,

wherein said data acquisition unit is configured to acquire the data with adding a region non-selective inversion pulse which is a pulse applied to an imaging region for labeling and a region selective inversion pulse which is a pulse applied to a region set independently from an imaging section for labeling as the set of the plural coherent control pulses.

6. The magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to claim 3,

wherein said data acquisition unit is configured to acquire the data according to a sequence with adding a fat-saturation pulse and a pulse for labeling as the set of the plural coherent control pulses, an interval between application timings of the fat-saturation pulse and the pulse for labeling being determined so as to obtain fat suppression effect at a time for applying a desired imaging pulse.

7. A magnetic resonance imaging method comprising:

acquiring data according to a sequence derived by adding a coherent control pulse on a Steady-State Free Precession pulse sequence for repeating plural radio frequency excitations with a constant interval, the coherent control pulse having a zero-order moment of which amount is zero; and

generating image data based on the data.

8. A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus comprising:

a data acquisition unit configured to acquire data according to a sequence derived by adding a coherent control pulse on a Steady-State Free Precession pulse sequence for repeating plural radio frequency excitations with a constant interval, the coherent control pulse having a zero-order moment of which amount is zero; and

an image data generating unit configured to generate image data based on the data,

wherein said data acquisition unit is configured to acquire the data by adding the coherent pulse as a fast-saturation pulse.

9. A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus comprising:

a data acquisition unit configured to acquire data according to a sequence derived by adding a coherent control pulse on a Steady-State Free Precession pulse sequence for repeating plural radio frequency excitations with a constant interval, the coherent control pulse having a zero-order moment of which amount is zero; and

an image data generating unit configured to generate image data based on the data,

wherein said data acquisition unit is configured to acquire the data by adding the coherent pulse as a pulse for labeling.

10. A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus comprising:

a data acquisition unit configured to acquire data according to a sequence derived by adding a coherent control pulse on a Steady-State Free Precession pulse sequence for repeating plural radio frequency excitations with a constant interval, the coherent control pulse having a zero-order moment of which amount is zero; and

an image data generating unit configured to generate image data based on the data,

wherein said data acquisition unit is configured to acquire the data by adding the coherent pulse as an inversion recovery pulse.

11. A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus comprising:

a data acquisition unit configured to acquire data according to a sequence derived by adding a coherent control pulse on a Steady-State Free Precession pulse sequence for repeating plural radio frequency excitations with a constant interval, the coherent control pulse having a zero-order moment of which amount is zero; and

an image data generating unit configured to generate image data based on the data,

wherein said data acquisition unit is configured to acquire the data by adding the coherent pulse as a saturation recovery pulse.

12. A magnetic resonance imaging method comprising:

acquiring data according to a sequence derived by adding a coherent control pulse on a Steady-State Free Precession pulse sequence for repeating plural radio frequency excitations with a constant interval, the coherent control pulse having a zero-order moment of which amount is zero; and

generating image data based on the data,

wherein the data is acquired by adding the coherent pulse as a fat-saturation pulse.

13. A magnetic resonance imaging method comprising:

acquiring data according to a sequence derived by adding a coherent control pulse on a Steady-State Free Precession pulse sequence for repeating plural radio frequency excitations with a constant interval, the coherent control pulse having a zero-order moment of which amount is zero; and

generating image data based on the data,

wherein the data is acquired by adding the coherent pulse as a pulse for labeling.

14. A magnetic resonance imaging method comprising:

acquiring data according to a sequence derived by adding a coherent control pulse on a Steady-State Free Precession pulse sequence for repeating plural radio frequency excitations with a constant interval, the coherent control pulse having a zero-order moment of which amount is zero; and

generating image data based on the data,

wherein the data is acquired by adding the coherent pulse as an inversion recovery pulse.

15. A magnetic resonance imaging method comprising:

acquiring data according to a sequence derived by adding a coherent control pulse on a Steady-State Free Precession pulse sequence for repeating plural radio frequency excitations with a constant interval, the coherent control pulse having a zero-order moment of which amount is zero; and

generating image data based on the data,

wherein the data is acquired by adding the coherent pulse as a saturation recovery pulse.