×

Method and apparatus for prospective motion correction using volume navigators in magnetic resonance imaging

  • US 9,945,923 B2
  • Filed: 08/06/2015
  • Issued: 04/17/2018
  • Est. Priority Date: 08/06/2015
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
Patent Images

1. A method for prospective motion correction in magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, comprising:

  • (a) providing a motion-correction processor with data representing an MR reference scan of an acquisition volume in a subject, from which MR diagnostic data are to be acquired in a subsequently conducted diagnostic scan of the subject, said subject, in said diagnostic scan, exhibiting movement;

    (b) from a control computer, operating an MR scanner, while the subject is situated therein, to execute said diagnostic scan by acquiring MR data in respective portions from the acquisition volume of the subject;

    (c) during said diagnostic scan, after acquiring a portion of said MR data, operating said MR scanner to simultaneously acquire navigator data only from multiple slices of the subject in respective sub-volumes, said sub-volumes in total encompassing a volume that is less than said acquisition volume;

    (d) before acquiring another portion of said MR data in said diagnostic scan, providing said navigator data acquired from said sub-volumes to said motion-correction processor and, in said motion-correction processor, executing a motion-correction algorithm wherein only data in said data representing said MR reference scan that correspond to said sub-volumes are compared with said navigator data acquired from said sub-volumes, to identify said movement of said subject that occurred between a time at which acquisition of said portion of said MR data was started and a time at which said navigator data were acquired from said sub-volumes, and generating a motion-compensation instruction, dependent on the identified movement, and providing said motion-correction instruction to said control computer;

    (e) from said control computer, adjusting operation of said MR scanner, dependent on said motion-correction instruction, to acquire another portion of said MR data in said diagnostic scan;

    (f) repeating (c), (d) and (e) until all of said MR data have been acquired from the acquisition volume of the subject in said diagnostic scan; and

    (g) in said motion-correction processor, generating a motion-corrected MR image of the acquisition volume of the subject from said MR data acquired in said diagnostic scan, and making the MR image available in electronic form as a data file from said motion-correction processor.

View all claims
  • 5 Assignments
Timeline View
Assignment View
    ×
    ×