Interleaved single magnetic resonance sequence for MR quantification
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method of processing a set of a number of x magnetic resonance (MR) slices, into a displayable form comprising:
- in a pre-pulse-only stage, using only one slice-selective pre-pulse, wherein the one slice-selective pre-pulse in the pre-pulse-only stage is used in order to saturate or invert a spin magnetization of a single first slice n within the set of the number of x MR slices; and
in an acquisition stage, using a slice-selective, multi-echo acquisition of a second slice m within the set of the number of x MR slices, the single second slice m being different from the single first slice n;
wherein each of the pre-pulse-only and acquisition stages are interleaved, in a computer as part of an MR sequence, wherein n and m are integers in a range of 1 . . . x, and the MR sequence is repeated, in order to account for the set number of the x MR slices,whereby a delay between the pre-pulse only processing stage and the acquisition stage of each particular slice is varied and an echo time of each particular slice is varied,resulting in a plurality of displayable MR images with different respective image contrasts, varying echo times, and varying delays from the processed set number of x MR slices.
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Abstract
A magnetic resonance sequence includes an interleaved slice-selective pre-pulse and a slice-selective multi-echo acquisition. This sequence is repeated with different delays between the pre-pulse and the acquisition resulting in a matrix of complex images. Based on this matrix T1 and T2 relaxations, proton density and the B1 field can be estimated. These quantified parameters enable synthetic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and form a robust input for tissue segmentation in computer aided diagnosis for MRI.
49 Citations
23 Claims
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1. A method of processing a set of a number of x magnetic resonance (MR) slices, into a displayable form comprising:
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in a pre-pulse-only stage, using only one slice-selective pre-pulse, wherein the one slice-selective pre-pulse in the pre-pulse-only stage is used in order to saturate or invert a spin magnetization of a single first slice n within the set of the number of x MR slices; and in an acquisition stage, using a slice-selective, multi-echo acquisition of a second slice m within the set of the number of x MR slices, the single second slice m being different from the single first slice n; wherein each of the pre-pulse-only and acquisition stages are interleaved, in a computer as part of an MR sequence, wherein n and m are integers in a range of 1 . . . x, and the MR sequence is repeated, in order to account for the set number of the x MR slices, whereby a delay between the pre-pulse only processing stage and the acquisition stage of each particular slice is varied and an echo time of each particular slice is varied, resulting in a plurality of displayable MR images with different respective image contrasts, varying echo times, and varying delays from the processed set number of x MR slices. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. An imaging system configured for generating displayable magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images using a magnetic resonance (MR) sequence on a set of a number of x slices, wherein the MR sequence includes:
at least two interleaved processing stages, the MR sequence itself comprising; a pre-pulse-only processing stage including only one slice-selective pre-pulse, the only one slice-selective pre-pulse being used in order to saturate or invert a spin magnetization of a single first slice n within the set of the number of x MR slices, and an acquisition processing stage including a slice-selective, multi-echo acquisition of a single second slice m within the set of the number of x MR slices, the single second slice m being different from the single first slice n;
where both n and m are integers in the range of 1 . . . x, and the imaging system is configured to repeat the MR sequence, in order to account for the set number of the x MR slices, where a delay between the pre-pulse only processing stage and the acquisition stage of each particular slice is varied, and an echo time of each particular slice is also varied, resulting in a plurality of displayable MR images being generated by the imaging system with different respective image contrasts, varying echo times, and varying delays.- View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A non-transitory computer readable medium that when executed by a computer processor of a magnetic resonance imaging system causes the computer processor to initiate executing computer program segments configured for processing a set of a number of x magnetic resonance (MR) slices into a displayable form, wherein the processing comprises,
in a pre-pulse-only stage: - , using only one slice-selective pre-pulse, wherein the one slice-selective pre-pulse, in the pre-pulse-only stage, is used in order to saturate or invert a spin magnetization of a single first slice n within the set of the number of x MR slices; and
in an acquisition stage, using a slice-selective, multi-echo acquisition of a single second slice m within the set of the number of x MR slices with the single second slice m being different from the single first slice n; the pre-pulse-only processing stage and acquisition stage are interleaved in an MR sequence, and n and m are integers in a range of 1 . . . x; the MR sequence is repeated, in order to account for the set number of the x MR slices, where a delay occurring between the pre-pulse only processing stage and the acquisition stage of each particular MR slice is varied, and an echo time of each particular slice is also varied, resulting in the formation of a plurality of displayable MR images with different respective image contrasts, varying echo times, and varying delays from the processed set number of x MR slices.
- , using only one slice-selective pre-pulse, wherein the one slice-selective pre-pulse, in the pre-pulse-only stage, is used in order to saturate or invert a spin magnetization of a single first slice n within the set of the number of x MR slices; and
Specification