Hierrarchical mapping framework for coil compression in magnetic resonance image reconstruction

A method for reconstructing an image of a subject using a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system, the steps of the method comprising:

• (a) acquiring data from a subject using the MRI system, wherein the data is acquired using a plurality of receive channels associated with a radio frequency (RF) coil array;
• (b) determining a strength of correlation between the plurality of receive channels;
• (c) creating subgroups of the receive channels based on the determined strength of correlation between the plurality of receive channels;
• (d) producing at least one virtual channel for each subgroup using a hierarchical semiseparable channel mixing across the subgroups;
• (e) reconstructing an image for each subgroup from the acquired data and using the receive channels and virtual channels in each respective subgroup;
• and
• (f) producing an image of the subject by combining the reconstructed images for each subgroup.