Magnetic resonance imaging apparatus and magnetic resonance imaging method

• US 8,823,376 B2
• Filed: 11/21/2012
• Issued: 09/02/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2009
• 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: Yamashita, Yuichi, Ichinose, Nobuyasu, Kitane, Shinichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Koval, Melissa
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHAN, EMILY Y
• Application Number:
  US13/683,587
• Publication Number:
  US 20130169274A1
• Time in Patent Office: 650 Days
• Field of Search: 324300-322, 600407-464, 382128-131
• US Class Current: 324/309
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0042 for the brain
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/055 involving electronic [EMR] or nuclear [NMR] magnetic resonance, e.g. magnetic resonance imaging
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7285 for synchronising or triggering a physiological measurement or image acquisition with a physiological event or waveform, e.g. an ECG signal A61B6/5205, A61B6/541, A61B8/5207, A61B8/543 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/28 Details of apparatus provided for in groups G01R33/44 - G01R33/64
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/54 Signal processing systems, e.g. using pulse sequences ; Generation or control of pulse sequences; Operator console
• 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 33/56333 Involving spatial modulation of the magnetization within an imaged region, e.g. spatial modulation of magnetization [SPAMM] tagging perfusion imaging based on arterial spin tagging G01R33/56366
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/0012 Biomedical image inspection

Abstract

A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus includes a magnetic resonance data acquisition unit and a cerebrospinal fluid image data generation unit. The magnetic resonance data acquisition unit consecutively acquires a plurality of magnetic resonance data for generating a plurality of cerebrospinal fluid image data, each corresponding to a different data acquisition time, after a labeling pulse is applied. The cerebrospinal fluid image data generation unit generates the plurality of cerebrospinal fluid image data based on the plurality of magnetic resonance data.

Claims

1. A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) apparatus comprising:

a magnetic resonance (MR) data acquisition unit which consecutively acquires a plurality of MR data sets from a region of interest, each acquired MR data set corresponding to a different data acquisition time, after a labeling pulse is applied to a region of interest without applying any labeling pulse between the consecutive data acquisitions and without substantial time delay between the consecutive data acquisitions; and

a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) image data generation unit which generates a plurality of CSF image data sets based on the plurality of MR data sets, wherein each CSF image data set corresponds to a respective one of the MR data sets.

2. The MRI apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the MR data acquisition unit is configured to apply a saturation pulse as the labeling pulse.

3. The MRI apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

the MR data acquisition unit is configured to apply a region non-selective inversion recovery pulse before the labeling pulse is applied.

4. The MRI apparatus according to claim 3, wherein

the CSF image data generation unit is configured to generate the plurality of CSF image data sets using REAL reconstruction processing.

5. The MRI apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a display processing unit which performs display processing to distinguishably display a CSF region in the plurality of CSF image data sets.

6. The MRI apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a monitoring unit which monitors a periodic body motion of an object in a period while the plurality of MR data sets are being consecutively acquired; and

a display processing unit which generates and displays a plurality of CSF images based on the plurality of CSF image data sets, and displays information on timing of the body motion with respect to the acquisition time of MR data sets for each of the plurality of CSF images, based on monitoring results of the monitoring unit.

7. The MRI imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the MR data acquisition unit is configured to apply a time spatial labeling inversion pulse as the labeling pulse.

8. The MRI imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the MR data acquisition unit is configured to apply a SPAMM (spatial modulation of magnetization) pulse or DANTE (delays alternating with nutations for tailored excitation) pulse as the labeling pulse.

9. The MRI imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the MR data acquisition unit is configured to selectively apply the labeling pulse to a stripe patterned region or a grid patterned region of the CSF to be imaged.

10. The MRI imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

said MR data acquisition unit is configured to selectively apply the labeling pulse to a radial patterned region of the CSF to be imaged.

11. The MRI apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a calculation unit which

extracts each of plural regions of CSF by performing threshold processing on each of the plurality of CSF image data sets;

then detects a moving distance of the CSF labeled between the plurality of CSF image data sets; and

calculates a flow rate of the CSF based on the moving distance and interval of acquisition times of the plurality of MR data sets corresponding to said image data sets.

12. The MRI apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the MR data acquisition unit is configured to simultaneously apply the labeling pulse to a plurality of regions.

13. A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) apparatus comprising:

a magnetic resonance (MR) data acquisition unit which consecutively acquires a plurality of MR data, each corresponding to a different data acquisition time, after a labeling pulse is applied to a region of interest; and

a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) image data generation unit which generates a plurality of CSF image data based on the plurality of MR data so as to correspond to each of the plurality of MR data;

a calculation unit which extracts each of regions of CSF by performing threshold processing on each of the plurality of CSF image data;

then detects a moving distance of the CSF labeled between the plurality of CSF image data; and

calculates a flow rate of the CSF based on the moving distance and interval of acquisition times of the plurality of MR data.

14. A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) method comprising:

applying a magnetic resonance (MR) labeling pulse to a region of interest;

consequently acquiring a plurality of MR data sets from said region of interest, each acquired MR data set corresponding to a different data acquisition time, after the labeling pulse is applied to said region of interest without applying any labeling pulse between the consecutive data acquisitions and without substantial time delay between the consecutive data acquisitions; and

generating a plurality of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) image data sets based on respectively corresponding ones of the plurality of MR data sets.