Magnetic resonance imaging method for the quantification of the T1 and/or T2 relaxation times in a sample
First Claim
1. A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) method for the quantification of a longitudinal relaxation time T1 and/or a transverse relaxation time T2 in a sample, comprising at least the following steps:
- subjecting a sample to an unbalanced steady state free precession (SSFP) sequence comprising a series of consecutive radiofrequency (RF) pulses;
acquiring a first order SSFP FID signal F1;
acquiring a lowest order SSFP FID signal F0;
acquiring a lowest order SSFP Echo signal F−
1; and
determining a longitudinal relaxation time T1 and/or a transverse relaxation time T2 of the sample based on the F0-signal, the F1-signal and the F−
1-signal.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) method for the quantification of the longitudinal (T1) and/or transverse (T2) relaxation times in a sample. According to the MRI method, a sample is subjected to an unbalanced steady state free precession (SSFP) sequence comprising a series of consecutive radiofrequency (RF) pulses. By means of the unbalanced SSFP sequence, a first order SSFP FID signal (F1), a lowest order SSFP FID signal (F0), and a lowest order SSFP Echo signal (F−1) are acquired. Based on the F0-signal, the F1-signal and the F−1-signal, the longitudinal (T1) and/or transverse (T2) relaxation times of the sample are determined.
5 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) method for the quantification of a longitudinal relaxation time T1 and/or a transverse relaxation time T2 in a sample, comprising at least the following steps:
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subjecting a sample to an unbalanced steady state free precession (SSFP) sequence comprising a series of consecutive radiofrequency (RF) pulses; acquiring a first order SSFP FID signal F1; acquiring a lowest order SSFP FID signal F0; acquiring a lowest order SSFP Echo signal F−
1; anddetermining a longitudinal relaxation time T1 and/or a transverse relaxation time T2 of the sample based on the F0-signal, the F1-signal and the F−
1-signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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14. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising a computer program for controlling a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system and for determining a longitudinal relaxation time T1 and/or a transverse relaxation time T2 based on image data sets acquired by the MRI system, the computer program at least comprising executable instructions to:
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employ an unbalanced steady state free precession (SSFP) sequence on the MRI system; acquire a first order SSFP FID signal F1; acquire a lowest order SSFP FID signal F0; acquire a lowest order SSFP Echo signal F1; and determine a longitudinal relaxation time T1 and/or a transverse relaxation time T2 of the sample based on the F0-signal, the F1-signal and the F−
1-signal.
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15. A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system at least comprising
a magnet for generating a main magnetic field at a location of a sample to be imaged, in order to at least partly align nuclear spins of the sample; -
an excitation module for applying a sequence of radio frequency (RF) pulses to the sample, in order to repeatedly excite the nuclear spins of the sample; a gradient module for generating temporary magnetic gradient fields at a location of the sample; an acquisition module for acquiring the magnetic resonance (MR) signals produced by excited nuclear spins of the sample; a control module configured for controlling the excitation module, the gradient module and the acquisition module such, that the sample is subjected to an unbalanced steady state free precession (SSFP) sequence and a lowest order SSFP FID signal F0, a first order SSFP FID signal F1 and a lowest order SSFP Echo signal F−
1 are acquired; andan analysis module being configured for determining a longitudinal relaxation time T1 and/or a transverse relaxation time T2 based on the F0-signal, the F1-signal and the F−
1-signal.
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Specification