MRI apparatus generating deformed binomial pulse waveforms based on flip angle

• US 7,990,142 B2
• Filed: 10/30/2008
• Issued: 08/02/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/02/2007
• 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: Ookawa, Masashi
• Primary Examiner(s): Shrivastav; Brij B.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Fetzner; Tiffany A
• Application Number:
  US12/261,543
• Publication Number:
  US 20090118607A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,006 Days
• Field of Search: 324300-322, 600/410, 600/411, 600/422, 600/423, 600/413, 600/425, 382/125, 382128-131
• US Class Current: 324/309
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/4828 Resolving the MR signals of different chemical species, e.g. water-fat imaging
• 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

Abstract

An MRI apparatus has a waveform setting unit, an applying control unit, a reconstructing unit, and a display control unit. The waveform setting unit sets an asymmetric RF pulse Waveform. The applying control unit controls an application of a pulse in accordance with the RF pulse waveform. The reconstructing unit reconstructs an image based on a signal received by the application. The display control unit controls a display of the image.

Claims

1. An MRI apparatus comprising:

a waveform setting unit configured to set an asymmetric binomial RF pulse waveform sequence including at least three RF pulses which are asymmetrically positioned with respect to an excitation center so as to impose unequal nuclear magnetic resonant (NMR) flip angles prior to and subsequent to said excitation center thus facilitating reduced length of the excitation binomial RF pulse waveform sequence and reduced imaging time;

an applying control unit configured to control application to a subject of said RF pulses in accordance with the set asymmetric binomial RF pulse waveform sequence;

a reconstructing unit configured to reconstruct an image based on MRI RF signals received in response to the applied asymmetric RF pulse waveform sequence; and

a display control unit configured to control a display of the reconstructed image.

2. The MRI apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the waveform setting unit sets the asymmetric binomial RF pulse waveform sequence such that there is a decreased flip angle imposed after an excitation center of the asymmetric binomial RF pulse waveform sequence as compared to the flip angle imposed prior to the excitation center.

3. The MRI apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the waveform setting unit includes a first waveform setting unit configured to set a desired binomial pulse waveform sequence, and a second waveform setting unit configured to generate and set a deformed binomial pulse waveform sequence as the asymmetric binomial RF pulse waveform by deleting an RF pulse included in the binomial pulse waveform sequence and by adding an additional flip angle calculated based on the deleted RF pulse to the remaining RF pulses in the deformed sequence.

4. The MRI apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the second waveform setting unit forms the added flip angle by modifying RF pulses prior to an excitation center in the binomial pulse waveform when the number of RF pulses used to form the binomial pulse waveform sequence is an odd number, and forms the added flip angle by using modified RF pulses prior to and shortly after the excitation center when the number of RF pulses used to form the binomial pulse waveform sequence is an even number.

5. The MRI apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the second waveform setting unit generates the deformed asymmetric binomial pulse waveform sequence by matching a total flip angle amount by uniformly adding a flip angle amount calculated based on the deleted RF pulse to the modified waveform.

6. The MRI apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the second waveform setting unit generates the deformed asymmetric binomial pulse waveform by matching a total flip angle amount by proportionally adding a flip angle amount calculated based on the deleted RF pulse to the modified waveform.

7. The MRI apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the applying control unit controls the application to a subject of said RF pulses in accordance with a resonant frequency of free water.

8. The MRI apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the applying control unit controls the application to a subject of said RF pulses in accordance with a resonant frequency of bound water.

9. The MRI apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reconstructing unit receives an NMR signal from a multi coil in parallel by using the multi coil as an RF coil.

10. The MRI apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an RF coil is used as a multi coil from where the asymmetric binomial RF pulse waveform sequence is transmitted in parallel.

11. An MRI apparatus configured for generating an MRI image using a binomial RF pulse waveform sequence in order to excite a species of nuclide, said apparatus comprising:

a waveform setting unit configured to generate and set a deformed binomial RF pulse waveform sequence having at least three RF pulses by deleting a portion of a binomial RF pulse waveform sequence and by also adding a flip angle amount calculated based on the deleted portion to the remaining waveforms of the sequence which has RF pulses that are asymmetrically positioned with respect to an excitation center so as to impose unequal nuclear magnetic resonant (NMR) flip angles prior to and subsequent to said excitation center thus facilitating a reduced length of the excitation binomial RF pulse waveform sequence and reduced imaging time; and

an applying control unit configured to control application to a subject of the deformed binomial RF pulse waveform sequence set by the waveform setting unit.

12. An MRI apparatus configured for generating an MRI image using a binomial RF pulse waveform sequence in order to excite a species of nuclide, said apparatus comprising:

a waveform setting unit configured to generate and set a deformed binomial RF pulse waveform sequence by sharing an intensity or a flip angle value, used for at least one RF pulse of a non-deformed binomial RF pulse waveform sequence with the RF pulses, of the deformed binomial RF pulse waveform sequence, having RF pulses which are asymmetrically positioned with respect to an excitation center so as to impose unequal nuclear magnetic resonant (NMR) flip angles prior to and subsequent to said excitation center thus facilitating a reduced length of the excitation binomial RF pulse waveform sequence and a reduced imaging time; and

an applying control unit configured to control an application to a subject of the deformed binomial RF pulse waveform sequence set by the waveform setting unit.

13. A method for generating an MRI image using a binomial RF pulse waveform sequence, said method comprising:

a waveform setting unit configured to generate and set a deformed binomial RF pulse waveform sequence by adding an intensity or a flip angle value used for at least one RF pulse of a non-deformed binomial RF pulse waveform sequence to remaining RF pulses of the deformed binomial RF pulse waveform sequence, with the deformed binomial RF pulse waveform sequence having RF pulses which are asymmetrically positioned with respect to an excitation center so as to impose unequal nuclear magnetic resonant (NMR) flip angles prior to and subsequent to said excitation center thus facilitating a reduced length of the excitation binomial RF pulse waveform sequence and a reduced imaging time; and

an applying control unit configured to control an application to a subject of the deformed binomial RF pulse waveform sequence set by the waveform setting unit.