MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING APPARATUS AND MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING METHOD

• US 20090224761A1
• Filed: 03/09/2009
• Published: 09/10/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/10/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation (Canon Inc.), Profium Oy
• Original Assignee: Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation (Canon Inc.), Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: UMEDA, Masaaki
• Granted Patent: US 8,253,415 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 324/312
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/3415 comprising arrays of sub-coils , i.e. phased-array coils with flexible receiver channels
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/485 based on chemical shift information [CSI] or spectroscopic imaging, e.g. to acquire the spatial distributions of metabolites
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/5611 Parallel magnetic resonance imaging, e.g. sensitivity encoding [SENSE], simultaneous acquisition of spatial harmonics [SMASH], unaliasing by Fourier encoding of the overlaps using the temporal dimension [UNFOLD], k-t-broad-use linear acquisition speed-up technique [k-t-BLAST], k-t-SENSE structural details of arrays of sub-coils G01R33/3415
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/5616 using gradient refocusing, e.g. EPI

Abstract

A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus includes a spectrum acquisition unit and a determining unit. The spectrum acquisition unit acquires a frequency spectrum of magnetic resonance signals from a metabolic product in a target region in an object. The determining unit determines one of the numbers of integrations and phase encodes of magnetic resonance signals for obtaining the frequency spectrum depending on a factor influencing the frequency spectrum.

Claims

1. A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus comprising:

a spectrum acquisition unit configured to acquire a frequency spectrum of magnetic resonance signals from a metabolic product in a target region in an object by applying radio frequency pulses and gradient magnetic field pulses to the object in a static magnetic field; and

a determining unit configured to determine one of the number of times of integrations and the number of times of phase encodes of magnetic resonance signals for obtaining the frequency spectrum depending on a factor influencing the frequency spectrum.

3. A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus of claim 1,

wherein said determining unit is configured to determine the one depending on a sensitivity distribution of a radio frequency coil for receiving the magnetic resonance signals for obtaining the frequency spectrum.

4. A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus of claim 3, further comprising:

a sensitivity distribution acquisition unit configured to acquire the sensitivity distribution; and

a display unit configured to display the sensitivity distribution.

5. A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus of claim 1,

wherein said determining unit is configured to determine the one depending on a magnetic field uniformity distribution.

6. A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus of claim 5, further comprising:

a magnetic field uniformity distribution acquisition unit configured to acquire the magnetic field uniformity distribution; and

a display unit configured to display the magnetic field uniformity distribution.

7. A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus of claim 1,

wherein said determining unit is configured to determine the one depending on a size of the target region.

8. A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus of claim 1,

wherein said determining unit is configured to determine the one depending on a line width of a previously acquired frequency spectrum.

9. A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

an acquisition condition changing unit configured to change an acquisition condition of the frequency spectrum during acquiring the frequency spectrum.

14. A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a correction signal acquisition unit configured to acquire correction signals from a region including at least the target region,

wherein said spectrum acquisition unit is configured to generate the frequency spectrum with excluding a magnetic resonance signal acquired during a body movement by the object, the magnetic resonance signal acquired during the body movement being determined based on at least one of phase variations and amplitude variations of the correction signals.

15. A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a correction signal acquisition unit configured to acquire correction signals from a region including at least the target region; and

a warn unit configured to warn detection information of a body movement by the object in case where the body movement is detected based on at least one of phase variations and amplitude variations of the correction signals.

16. A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus of claim 15, further comprising:

an input unit for inputting information instructing whether acquisition of the frequency spectrum is to be aborted or to be continued in case where the detection information is warned by said warn unit.

17. A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a correction signal acquisition unit configured to acquire correction signals from a region including at least the target region,

wherein said spectrum acquisition unit is configured to shift at least one of center frequencies of the magnetic resonance signals from the metabolic product according to shift amounts of center frequencies of the correction signals in case where at least one of the shift amounts is not less than a predetermined amount.

2. A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus comprising:

a spectrum acquisition unit configured to acquire a frequency spectrum of magnetic resonance signals from a metabolic product in a target region in an object by applying radio frequency pulses and gradient magnetic field pulses to the object in a static magnetic field; and

an acquisition condition changing unit configured to change an acquisition condition of the frequency spectrum during acquiring the frequency spectrum.

10. A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus of claim 2,

wherein said acquisition condition changing unit includes a display part configured to display a frequency spectrum on acquisition.

11. A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus of claim 2,

wherein said acquisition condition changing unit includes an input part for changing one of the number of times of integrations and the number of times of phase encodes of magnetic resonance signals for obtaining the frequency spectrum.

12. A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus of claim 2,

wherein said acquisition condition changing unit includes an input part for aborting acquisition of the frequency spectrum.

13. A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus of claim 2,

wherein said acquisition condition changing unit includes:

a storage part configured to save a frequency spectrum on acquisition; and

an input part for aborting acquisition of the frequency spectrum.

18. A magnetic resonance imaging method comprising:

acquiring a frequency spectrum of magnetic resonance signals from a metabolic product in a target region in an object by applying radio frequency pulses and gradient magnetic field pulses to the object in a static magnetic field; and

determining one of the numbers of integrations and phase encodes of magnetic resonance signals for obtaining the frequency spectrum depending on a factor influencing the frequency spectrum.

19. A magnetic resonance imaging method comprising:

acquiring a frequency spectrum of magnetic resonance signals from a metabolic product in a target region in an object by applying radio frequency pulses and gradient magnetic field pulses to the object in a static magnetic field; and

changing an acquisition condition of the frequency spectrum during acquiring the frequency spectrum.