Ge Medical Systems Global Technology Company, LLC

Ge Yokogawa Medical Systems, Limited

Tetsuo Ogino

Yasushi Kato

Yukitoshi Shimo

Toshihito Shiraishi

Toshio Tsunoda

In order to reduce the cost for isolation between a surface coil and a body coil installed on a magnet assembly side, an RF shield for a surface coil is disposed between a body coil installed on a magnet assembly side of an MRI apparatus and a surface coil body not installed on the magnet assembly side. The reception by the body coil of RF pulses transmitted from the surface coil body is suppressed by the RF shield for the surface coil. Since an induced voltage in the body coil drops to a great extent, a switch provided on the body coil side no longer requires a component resistant to high voltage and high current. Thus, the apparatus can be simplified and the cost can be reduced. As a result, the reliability of the apparatus is improved.

RF shielding method, MRI apparatus, and transmitting/receiving surface coil

An image processing system having a server which applies image processing to a medical image sent by a subscriber via a generally available network, such as the 'internet', and sends the results of the image processing back to that subscriber or to another subscriber as instructed upon verification of the legitimacy of the instructions. In this manner, the processing load is reduced and medical images are made more readily and easily accessible.

Medical image service method, medical software service method, medical image central management server apparatus, medical software central management server apparatus, medical image service system and medical software service system

For the purpose of providing an image processing method for properly performing filtering, a local region is defined containing a pixel of interest in an original image (); pixel groups are defined in the region in a plurality of modes (); a pixel group mode which best fits a structure of the original image in the local region is selected (); and an average pixel value of the pixel group which contains the pixel of interest is used as a new pixel value for the pixel of interest.

Image processing method and apparatus, recording medium, and imaging apparatus

For the purpose of accurately calculating the average value M of original complex observed signals S from an absolute-value image produced by the complex observed signals S, in Step A1, the average value Ma of pixel values |S| of the absolute-value image in a local region is calculated by:wherein the number of pixels in the local region is represented as k. In Step A2, the average value M of the original complex observed signals S is calculated by the following equation:(&#x3b1;),wherein &#x192;(Ma/&#x3b1;) is an inverse function of the function Ma/&#x3b1;=&#x192;(M/&#x3b1;) represented as:+()|exp{&#x2212;()/

Image processing method, image processing apparatus, MRI apparatus and recording medium

For the purpose of enhancing a difference between pixels relating to a substantial structure in an image and other pixels, with each pixel constituting an image defined as a pixel of interest, the variance of pixel values is determined in a local region to which the pixel of interest belongs (); and the pixel value of the pixel of interest is maintained when the variance of pixel values is significantly larger than the variance of noise, otherwise the pixel value of the pixel of interest is suppressed ().

Image processing method and apparatus, recording medium and imaging apparatus

For the purpose of providing an image processing method for efficiently performing filtering, a local region containing a pixel of interest is defined in a plurality of modes in an original image (); sequentially for the region in the plurality of modes, the variance of pixel values is obtained and a decision is made whether the value of the variance falls within a predetermined range (); and an image is produced using as a new pixel value for the pixel of interest an average value of pixel values of the region for which the value of the variance first falls within the range ().

For the purpose of providing an image processing method for determining the variance of noise in an image, a residual sum of squares of pixel values is determined for each of a plurality of local regions defined over the entire image ( ); a histogram thereof is obtained ( ); and the variance of noise is determined based on the value of the residual sum of squares that gives a peak of the histogram ( ).

For the purpose of improve rendering capability for a blood vessel, an MR. image producing method comprises: window-processing MR signals using a window function f(k) that has a &ldquo;value less than one&rdquo; at a center (O) and in its proximate region in a k-space and on a periphery and in its proximate region in the k-space, and has a value larger than the &ldquo;value less than one&rdquo; between the regions in which the window function has the &ldquo;value less than one;&rdquo; and applying Fourier-transformation processing to the window-processed MR signals to obtain an MR image.

MRI apparatus

For the purpose of acquiring the magnetic resonance signal having a small Maxwell term, a flow encode gradient Gr having the first half and the second half in which the gradient of the respective halves is reversed and having an equal absolute value of the gradient is applied in the readout gradient direction in a time period coincident with the time period when the spin is rephased by means of the slice gradient, and a flow encode gradient having the first half and the second half in which the gradient of the respective halves is reversed and having an equal absolute value of the gradient is applied in the slice gradient direction in a time period coincident with the time period when the spin is dephased by means of the readout gradient.

Method and apparatus for magnetic resonance signal acquisition and magnetic resonance imaging apparatus

In order to provide a magnetic resonance signal receiving method and apparatus for performing imaging with good quality and an magnetic resonance imaging apparatus employing such a magnetic resonance signal receiving apparatus, gradient magnetic fields Gs k and Gs k for dephasing spins are applied with their strengths varied after each spin echo is received in line scanning.

Magnetic resonance signal receiving method and apparatus and magnetic resonance imaging apparatus

In order to provide a good frequency property and good openness of a magnetic field space, there is provided a quadrature RF coil and RF magnetic field generating apparatus that comprises two RF coils facing each other, each of the RF coils comprising an annular closed loop,and a plurality of radial electric paths,inside the closed loop,and generates an RF magnetic field by quadrature-driving the two RF coils, and a magnetic, resonance imaging method and apparatus employing such an RF magnetic field generating apparatus.

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Tokyo, Japan

Tetsuo Ogino