General Electric Company

Ge Medical Systems Global Technology Company, LLC

Cynthia Faye Maier

Elisabeth Angelos

Baldev S Ahluwalia

Kevin Franklin King

Eddy Benjamin Boskamp

Bernice Hoppel

John Edward Lorbiecki

LeRoy R Blawat

The present invention provides a system and method for on-the-fly optimization of the timing of suppression pulses and a k-space filling scheme for user-prescribed imaging parameters. The invention also minimizes total data acquisition time for the sequence tailored to the particular user-prescribed imaging parameters. A pulse sequence uses a 180&#xb0; pulse to invert the magnetization corresponding to the suppressed tissue so that a maximum amount of time is provided to play out alpha or imaging pulses after each inversion. The pulse sequence optimizes the number of alpha pulses played out after each inversion pulse based on a specific protocol or imaging parameters selected by the user. This pulse sequence allows for a modified k-space filling scheme that places, at the center of k-space, the echo that most closely corresponds to the null point of the suppressed tissue. For the first inversion pulse, a flip angle less than 180&#xb0; is used to drive the suppressed tissue magnetization into a steady-state condition immediately.

Method and apparatus of gradient echo imaging with on-the-fly optimization of tissue suppression

An assembly of RF coils for bilateral imaging of a first and a second breast of the same person is disclosed. The assembly includes a first pair of coils having a first coil juxtaposed and underlapping a second coil, thereby defining juxtaposed edges of the first and second coils, and a second pair of coils having a third coil juxtaposed and underlapping a fourth coil, thereby defining juxtaposed edges of the third and fourth coils. The first coil has a first opening for receiving the first breast, the second coil has a second opening for receiving the second breast, the third coil substantially opposes the first coil, defining therebetween a first region for receiving the first breast, and the fourth coil substantially opposes the second coil, defining therebetween a second region for receiving the second breast.

Bilateral imaging apparatus

An MR imaging pulse sequence provides a method for simultaneous data acquisition from more than one independently prescribed volume while providing optimized field uniformity during both the magnetization preparation and data acquisition parts of the acquisition. The method is based on the use of a multi-element array coil where individual RF coil elements are more sensitive to one of the separate volumes of interest than to the other volumes. In the example of breast imaging, one scenario would have two coil elements that are designed to be most sensitive to the signal from the left breast, and two coil elements that are designed to be most sensitive to the signal from the right breast. An optimized pulse sequence and reconstruction technique is used to simultaneously acquire two separate sagittal imaging volumes corresponding to the left and right breasts with optimized fat suppression.

Technique for simultaneous acquisition of multiple independent MR imaging volumes with optimization of magnetic field homogeneity for spin preparation

An imaging method for an MRI system includes identifying a low signal region within a scanning volume. An overlap calculation of the scanning volume is generated. The low signal region is substantially eliminated from the overlap calculation thereby generating an adjusted overlap structure. A SENSE calculation is generated in response to the adjusted overlap structure.

Growing community of inventors

Milwaukee, WI, United States of America

Cynthia Faye Maier