Siemens Healthcare Gmbh

National Institutes of Health, a Component of the US Dept. of Health & Human Services

The General Hospital Corporation

Siemens Healthineers Ag

Northshore University Healthsystem

Siemens Aktiengesellschaft

University of Utah Research Foundation

Himanshu Bhat

Mario Zeller

Thomas Beck

Keith Aaron Heberlein

Pedro Miguel Itriago Leon

Waqas Majeed

Andre Jan Willem Van Der Kouwe

David Grodzki

Dominik Paul

Rainer Schneider

Robert R Edelman

Ioannis Koktzoglou

Jonathan R Polimeni

Shivraman Giri

Uvo Hoelscher

Sunil Goraksha Patil

Florian Maier

Matthew Tisdall

Adrienne Campbell

Axel Joachim Krafft

Thorsten Feiweier

Kawin Setsompop

Flavio Carinci

Dennis Lee Parker

Tobias Kober

Stephen Farman Cauley

Martin Harder

Peter Caravan

Vibhas S Deshpande

Daniel Nico Splitthoff

Bruce R Rosen

Carsten Prinz

Dingxin Wang

Thomas Witzel

Stephan Stoecker

Bradley Drake Bolster, Jr

Henrik Odeen

Stephan Stöcker

Agus Priatna

Ovidiu Andronesi

Matthew Dylan Tisdell

John Roberts

A method for performing magnetic resonance-guided thermal therapy includes selecting a first set of sampling characteristics for acquiring a first set of slabs covering a first anatomical region of interest. Additionally, a second set of sampling characteristics is selected for acquiring a second set of slabs covering a second anatomical region of interest. This second set of sampling characteristics is distinct from the first set of sampling characteristics. An interleaved acquisition of the first set of slabs and the second set of slabs may then be performed using the first set of sampling characteristics and the second set of sampling characteristics.

Simultaneous multi-slab thermometry during MR-guided thermal therapy

Techniques are provided for operating an MR scanner that comprises gradient coils configured to generate a field gradient along coordinate axes of a coil coordinate system. The techniques include receiving limit values concerning the field gradient in the coil coordinate system and an MR scan protocol. Expected orientations of a logical coordinate system are then determined and, for each one, a compliant value for a timing parameter is determined and stored in a database. The MR scanner is controlled to carry out an MR scan, and afterwards the orientation is set to a first orientation. A first value for the timing parameter according to the first orientation is determined based on the data stored in the database, and the MR scanner is controlled to carry out a scan sequence according to the first orientation and the first value.

Magnetic resonance imaging using a database of timing parameters

Embodiments provide a computer-implemented method for selecting thermal images for generating a temperature difference map through proton resonance frequency (PRF) thermometry, including: acquiring a set of baseline images prior to a thermal treatment of an organ of interest; identifying a subset of baseline images in a most stable motion state from the set of baseline images; averaging the subset of baseline images to generate a template image; determining an acceptance threshold based on an image similarity measure (ISM) between each of the set of baseline images and the template image; acquiring a set of thermal images during the thermal treatment; and selecting a subset of thermal images from the set of thermal images, wherein each of the subset of thermal images has the image similarity measure above the acceptance threshold.

Image-based retrospective gating of MR images for PRF thermometry

The invention relates to a method for optimizing an MR imaging sequence with a plurality of sequence blocks where gradient requirements of logical gradients switched along axes including a read, slice, and phase axis are determined. Based on the requirements, a reference gradient is determined among the logical gradients having a longest minimum duration relative to remaining logical gradients within the sequence block during which the reference gradient is switched on. A scaling factor is determined for each of the logical gradients. The scaling factors for the logical gradient factors are updated taking into account the determined stretch ratios, and optimized amplitudes are determined for the logical gradients based on the updated scaling factors.

Optimization of MR imaging sequence

A method for producing an image representative of the vasculature of a subject using a MRI system includes the acquisition of a signal indicative of a subject' cardiac phase. During each heartbeat of the subject, image slices of a volume covering a region of interest (ROI) within the subject are acquired by applying a volume-selective venous suppression pulse to suppress (a) venous signal for an upper slice in the ROI; (b) venous signal for slices that are upstream for venous flow in the ROI; and (c) background signal from the upstream slices. Next, a slice-selective background suppression pulse is applied to suppress background signal of the upper slice. Following a quiescent time interval, a spectrally selective fat suppression pulse is applied to the entire volume to attenuate signal from background fat signal. Then, a simultaneous multi-slice acquisition of the upper slice and the upstream slices is performed.

Data acquisition acceleration in magnetic resonance angiography applications using magnetization-prepared simultaneous multi-slice acquisition

A method for phase correction in proton resonance frequency (PRF) thermometry application includes acquiring a series of magnetic resonance (MR) images comprising a first MR image and plurality of subsequent MR images depicting an anatomical area of interest. The MR images are acquired while tissue in the anatomical area of interest is undergoing a temperature change. Each subsequent MR image is registered to the first MR image to yield a plurality of registered images. A plurality of basis images are computed from the registered images using Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The basis images are used to remove motion-related phase changes from a second series of MR images, thereby yielding a motion corrected second series of MR images. One or more temperature difference maps are generated that depict a relative temperature change for the tissue in the anatomical area of interest based on the motion corrected second series.

Image registration and principal component analysis based multi-baseline phase correction method for proton resonance frequency thermometry

A method for decomposing noise into white and spatially correlated components during MR thermometry imaging includes acquiring a series of MR images of an anatomical object and generating a series of temperature difference maps of the anatomical object. The method further includes receiving a selection of a region of interest (ROI) within the temperature difference map and estimating total noise variance values depicting total noise variance in the temperature difference map. Each total noise variance value is determined using a random sampling of a pre-determined number of voxels from the ROI. A white noise component and a spatially correlated noise component of the total noise variance providing a best fit to the total noise variance values for all of the random samplings are identified. The white noise component and the spatially correlated noise component are displayed on a user interface.

Guiding protocol development for magnetic resonance thermometry

In a method and apparatus for acquiring magnetic resonance (MR) data, MR signals are acquired simultaneously from S slices, of a total of N slices of a subject, with S being an SMS factor. The N slices are respectively at different positions from an isocenter of the data acquisition scanner, thereby causing said MR signals to be affected differently by Maxwell terms of magnetic fields that give said MR signals respective signal dephasings that are dependent on the distance of a respective slice from the isocenter. The SMS MR data acquisition sequence is executed with a spacing between each pair of adjacent slices being less than N/S. Maxwell correction gradient moments are calculated at an average position between the S slices, thereby generating corrected k-space data wherein the signal dephasing of the MR signals from the S slices is reduced.

Method and magnetic resonance apparatus for maxwell compensation in simultaneous multislice data acquisitions

In a magnetic resonance apparatus and a method for operating the MR apparatus to acquire MR data in a single scan with different contrasts, nuclear spins in multiple slices of an examination subject are simultaneously excited in a single scan, with a simultaneous multi-slice acquisition sequence, in which a radio-frequency multi-band binomial pulse is radiated.

Multi-contrast simultaneous multislice magnetic resonance imaging with binomial radio-frequency pulses

In a method and apparatus for acquiring magnetic resonance (MR) data, an MR data acquisition scanner is operated, while a subject is situated therein to execute a simultaneous multislice (SMS) turbo spin echo (TSE) sequence by implementing a TSE-based reference scan to acquire reference data and an imaging scan, to acquire raw MR data from the subject. The reference data and the raw MR data are entered into a memory organized as k-space. A computer accesses the memory in order to make the k-space data, composed of said reference data and said image data, available in electronic form, as at least one data file.

Method and apparatus for implementing a turbo spin echo-based reference scan for simultaneous multislice magnetic resonance data acquisitions

In a magnetic resonance (MR) navigator-based method and apparatus, MR data are acquired from a large joint of a patient, which is not modelable as a whole based on a single rigid body model. The field of view which the MR data are acquired is divided in a processor into multiple sub-sections, with each sub-section being modelable based on a rigid body model. MR navigator signals are acquired from each of the sub-sections, and these navigator signals are used in a motion tracking algorithm that is based on a rigid body model in order to generate a modeling result that tracks the movement of the overall joint within the field of view. The modeling result can be used for prospective or retrospective motion correction of the MR data.

Navigator-based magnetic resonance method and apparatus to detect non-rigid motion in large joint magnetic resonance imaging

In a method and magnetic resonance (MR) apparatus for combined multislice fingerprinting MR imaging, for each repetition of a repetition sequence, radio-frequency excitation pulses are radiated with flip angles of the radio-frequency excitation pulses being different from one another, at least for a few repetitions. The scattering of the local maxima of the sum of the radio-frequency energy of the radio-frequency excitation pulses as a function of the repetition over the repetition sequence is for example not greater than 80%.

Method and apparatus for multislice magnetic resonance fingerprinting

In a magnetic resonance apparatus and method for acquiring magnetic resonance data, a magnetic resonance data acquisition scanner executes a turbo spin echo (TSE) data acquisition sequence with simultaneous multi-slice (SMS) imaging wherein nuclear spins in two different slices of an examination subject are simultaneously excited so as to produce respective echo trains. The magnetic resonance data acquisition scanner is operated with the SMS imaging configured so that magnetic resonance signals from the respective slices have a different contrast, with the SMS being configured to allow evolution of magnetization of the nuclear spins for the second contrast while magnetic resonance signals with the first contrast are being detected. The respective magnetic resonance signals from the two different slices are detected and entered into an electronic memory organized as k-space, as k-space data.

Method and magnetic resonance apparatus for simultaneous multi-contrast turbo spin echo imaging

A method for automatically and dynamically optimizing image acquisition parameters/commands of an imaging procedure performed by a medical imaging apparatus in order to mitigate or cancel dynamic effects perturbing the image acquisition process of an object to be imaged by the medical imaging apparatus. The method includes connecting a dynamic correction module (DCM) to the medical imaging apparatus, automatically acquiring by the DCM image acquisition parameters/commands and data about dynamic changes or effects, and automatically determining in real time, by the DCM, at least one new image acquisition parameter/command from the image acquisition parameters/commands defined in the imaging control system and the dynamic change data, while the image acquisition parameter/command defined in the imaging control system remains unchanged. The method further includes automatically providing, by the DCM, the new image acquisition parameter/command to the hardware control system.

Method and device for dynamic effects correction in medical imaging

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Newton, MA, United States of America

Himanshu Bhat