Siemens Aktiengesellschaft

Siemens Healthcare Gmbh

Harvard College

Bjoern Heismann

David Grodzki

Sebastian Schmidt

Thomas Von Der Haar

Juergen Leppert

Karl Stierstorfer

Arne Hengerer

Silke Janssen

Markus Vester

Thomas Flohr

Herbert Bruder

Rainer Raupach

Razvan Ionasec

Eva Rothgang

Sven Fritzler

Rene Kartmann

Christoph Josef Brabec

Mark-Aleksi Keller-Reichenbecher

Annemarie Hausotte

Andreas Mahnken

Martin Hammes

Anke Weissenborn

Jeanette Lenger

Erhard Schlund

Christine Faigle

Randy Buckner

Silke Quick

Thomas Van Der Haar

Joerg Pfeiffer

In a method, computer and medical imaging apparatus for the provision of confidence information, an automatic diagnosis system is provided to the computer. Medical image data acquired from a patient are received by or accessed by the computer. A measure of confidence is determined by the computer, which describes the reliability of a correct diagnosis of the medical image data by the diagnosis system. The confidence information concerning the reliability of the correct diagnosis of the medical image data by the diagnosis system is provided as an output from the computer, wherein the confidence information is based on the determined measure of confidence.

Method, computer and medical imaging apparatus for the provision of confidence information

A method for controlling an evaluation system for medical images of a patient is proposed. Medical images of the patient acquired at different time points are stored in an image database. Upon reception of a user command associated with a time-dependent evaluation command including at least one evaluation parameter describing an evaluation to be performed and identification information describing the patient, medical images of the patient fulfilling a relevancy criterion depending on the evaluation parameter and acquired at different time points are retrieved from the image database. The retrieved images are registered to each other in at least one registration process. Finally, a composite evaluation image data set including a time series of evaluation images is derived from the registered retrieved images and output to the user.

Method for controlling an evaluation device for medical images of patient, evaluation device, computer program and electronically readable storage medium

In a method and apparatus for supporting a user when positioning an accessory for a magnetic resonance examination on an examination object, the actual position of the accessory is acquired by an acquisition unit, and a target position of the accessory is determined by a determination unit. The actual position and the target position of the accessory are compared with regard to deviation of the actual position from the target position of the accessory. Output information representing any deviation that is found to exist is provided to a user via an output unit.

Method for supporting a user when positioning an accessory for a magnetic resonance examination

In a method and magnetic resonance (MR) apparatus for monitoring a radiation therapy of a patient, first MR image data are acquired with a quantitative magnetic resonance method before an irradiation of a target area of the patient, and second MR image data are acquired with the quantitative magnetic resonance method after the irradiation of the target area of the patient. The first MR image data and the second MR image data are compared, and output information is generated on the basis of a result of the comparison.

Method and apparatus for monitoring a radiation therapy of a patient

In a method for the acquisition of magnetic resonance (MR) data relating to a pre-determined two-dimensional volume segment of an examination object with an MR apparatus, a randomized determination of points to be sampled in the raw data space is made, such that the raw data space is undersampled when only the determined points to be sampled are then sampled. MR data relating to the specified points to be sampled are acquired by operation of the MR apparatus. Alternatively, a determination of points to be sampled in the raw data space is made using radial or spiral trajectories in k-space that begin in the center k-space. Each specified point to be sampled is then moved to an FFT grid point, and MR data relating to the determined points to be sampled is implemented by operation of the MR apparatus.

Method and magnetic resonance apparatus for acquisition of MR data of a two-dimensional volume segment

In a method and apparatus for recording magnetic resonance data of an object to be examined, two-dimensional k-space is scanned along lines extending in a readout direction within an acquisition trajectory. Undersampling is carried out along at least some of the lines and, during an acquisition section proceeding through the entirety of k-space in the readout direction, multiple jumps occur as a result of gradient pulses in the phase coding direction perpendicular to the readout direction. These jumps can occur between adjacent lines.

Method and magnetic resonance apparatus for accelerate acquisition of magnetic resonance data of an examination object by undersampling the acquired magnetic resonance data

In a method to determine a control sequence for a magnetic resonance imaging system in order to acquire echo signal-based raw magnetic resonance data in k-space along one or more trajectories on the basis of the control sequence, the control sequence is optimized so that, to control a gradient magnetic field for at least a predetermined portion of the control sequence, a change of an attribute of the gradient magnetic field is limited. The limitation takes place so that a momentary amplitude change rate of the gradient magnetic field falls below a predetermined amplitude change rate limit value, and/or so that a momentary direction change rate of the gradient magnetic field falls below a predetermined direction change rate limit value, and/or so that a momentary gradient change rate of the gradient magnetic field that is based on a combination of the momentary amplitude change rate and the momentary direction change rate falls below a predetermined gradient change rate limit value.

Determination of a control sequence for a magnetic resonance imaging system

In a method to optimize a magnetic resonance sequence of a magnetic resonance apparatus and a magnetic resonance apparatus operated according to such a method, optimization of the timing of the magnetic resonance sequence is implemented by adopting a magnetic resonance sequence as a starting sequence includes a first time interval set of one or more first time intervals and a second time interval set of one or more second time intervals, wherein the first time intervals of the first time interval set are to be left unmodified with regard to an optimization of the duration. The magnetic resonance sequence is automatically analyzed to identify the first time intervals of the first time interval set and the second time intervals of the second time interval set in the magnetic resonance sequence. The duration of at least one second time interval of the second time interval set is then automatically optimized.

Method and magnetic resonance apparatus for optimization of a magnetic resonance sequence

In a method and a magnetic resonance (MR) system for functional MR imaging of a predetermined volume segment of THE brain of a living examination subject, an RF excitation pulse is radiated into the subject and at least one magnetic field gradient is activated, and MR data of the predetermined volume segment is acquired beginning at a predetermined echo time after the RF excitation pulse. The echo time is in a time period of 10 &#x3bc;s to 1000 &#x3bc;s.

Method and magnetic resonance system for functional MR imaging of a predetermined volume segment of the brain of a living examination subject

In a method and magnetic resonance apparatus for acquiring a high-resolution magnetic resonance image dataset of at least one limited body region having at least one anatomical structure of a patient, an overview image dataset is first acquired, using which an item of position information of the at least one anatomical structure is ascertained, the item of position information designating an exact position of the at least one anatomical structure and/or a relative position of the at least one anatomical structure relative to the reference body region. A high-resolution magnetic resonance image dataset of the anatomical structure is then created using the position information and the high-resolution magnetic resonance image dataset is evaluated. The evaluated high-resolution image data is then made available in electronic form.

Method and apparatus for acquiring a high-resolution magnetic resonance image dataset of at least one limited body region having at least one anatomical structure of a patient

In a method and apparatus for acquiring magnetic resonance data, a resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging sequence is executed in alternation with a morphological data acquisition sequence. The alternating sequences are executed with no time interruptions therebetween, with at least one repetition of the alternating sequences. The resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging sequence can be a BOLD-EPI sequence, and the morphological imaging sequence can be an MPRAGE sequence.

Magnetic resonance imaging method and apparatus with interleaved resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging sequences and morphological magnetic resonance imaging sequences

In a method for an accelerated progression of a repeating pulse sequence with an optimized gradient curve (that has at least one pulse) for a magnetic resonance examination by operation of a magnetic resonance apparatus, boundary conditions for a first gradient pulse of a first progression of the pulse sequence are detected, and the boundary conditions of the first gradient pulse of the first progression of the pulse sequence are compared with boundary conditions of a previous gradient pulse of a previous progression of the pulse sequence. An optimized gradient curve of the first gradient pulse of the first progression of the pulse sequence is determined from the gradient curve of the previous gradient pulse when agreement of the boundary conditions of the first gradient pulse with the boundary conditions of the previous gradient pulse exists.

Magnetic resonance apparatus and method for operation thereof with an accelerated progression of a repeating pulse sequence with an optimized gradient curve

In a method and a pulse sequence optimization device to determine a pulse sequence for a magnetic resonance system, a pulse sequence is selected for optimization that includes a number of radio-frequency pulses and a number of gradient pulses chronologically coordinated therewith. An automatic analysis of the pulse sequence takes place to identify fixed point/time periods in the pulse sequence that are to be left unmodified, and modifiable time intervals in the pulse sequence that may be optimized. An automatic optimization of gradient pulses in the modifiable time intervals takes place according to a predetermined optimization criterion, while keeping the length of modifiable time intervals constant.

Optimization of a pulse sequence for a magnetic resonance system

In a method and a pulse sequence determination device to determine a pulse sequence for a magnetic resonance system, control protocol parameter values are initially acquired. A determination of k-space trajectory node points within k-space then takes place in a processor on the basis of the control protocol parameter values. The determination of the pulse sequence then takes place on the basis of the k-space trajectory node points. A method for operating a magnetic resonance system uses such a pulse sequence, and a magnetic resonance system embodies such a pulse sequence determination device.

Determination of a pulse sequence for a magnetic resonance system

In a magnetic resonance (MR) method and system to generate a series of MR images to monitor the position of an interventional device located in an examination region, radial scanning of k-space is combined with other scans, in particular for the k-space center. The measurement time until the entirety of k-space corresponding to the imaging region is scanned is thereby markedly shortened in total. The short echo times that are possible with this reduce susceptibility artifacts in the reconstructed image data and enable a depiction of tissue or substances with very short T2 values, for example plastics. Due to the rapidly repeated excitation and acquisition of measurement data and the reconstruction of image data, it is possible to monitor a position of the intervention device in the examination region.

Growing community of inventors

Erlangen, Germany

Bjoern Heismann