# US 11,992,305 B2 · Magnetic resonance imaging apparatus that deforms a morphology image to coincide with a function image, image processing apparatus, and image processing method > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,992,305 B2 - Document ID: US11992305B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 17/230,046 - Filed: 2021-04-14 - Published: 2022-03-03 - Granted: 2024-05-28 - Earliest claimed: 2020-08-31 - Assignees: FUJIFILM Healthcare Corporation - Applicants: Hitachi, Ltd. - Inventors: Yasuo Kawata; Masahiro Takizawa; Nobuyuki Yoshizawa - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11992305B2 ## CPC - A61B 5/055: involving electronic [EMR] or nuclear [NMR] magnetic resonance, e.g. magnetic resonance imaging - G01R 33/56366: {Perfusion imaging} - A61B 5/0042: {for the brain} - G01R 33/50: based on the determination of relaxation times {, e.g. T1 measurement by IR sequences; T2 measurement by multiple-echo sequences} - G01R 33/5608: {Data processing and visualization specially adapted for MR, e.g. for feature analysis and pattern recognition on the basis of measured MR data, segmentation of measured MR data, edge contour detection on the basis of measured MR data, for enhancing measured MR data in terms of signal-to-noise ratio by means of noise filtering or apodization, for enhancing measured MR data in terms of resolution by means for deblurring, windowing, zero filling, or generation of gray-scaled images, colour-coded images or images displaying vectors instead of pixels (image data processing or generation, in general G06T)} - G01R 33/56308: {Characterization of motion or flow; Dynamic imaging} - G01R 33/4822: {in three dimensions} - G01R 33/5602: {by filtering or weighting based on different relaxation times within the sample, e.g. T1 weighting using an inversion pulse} - A61B: DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION (usefulness limited to only animals A61D) - G01R: MEASURING ELECTRIC VARIABLES; MEASURING MAGNETIC VARIABLES (indicating correct tuning of resonant circuits H03J3/12) ## Abstract A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus captures a morphology image and a function image that are captured with respect to an equal imaging region of an object under examination. Processing for deforming the morphology image is performed using a deformation parameter and moving positions of structural objects included in the morphology image to respective positions of structural objects of a previously determined standard morphology. Then, the function image is deformed using a value of the deformation parameter used in deforming the morphology image to cause a position of a region included in the function image to coincide with a position of a corresponding region of the standard morphology or by using the standard morphology in an opposite direction using the value of the deformation parameter to cause a position of a region of the structural object thereof to coincide with a position of a corresponding region included in the function image. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus comprising: a static magnetic field generation unit that applies a static magnetic field to an imaging space in which an object under examination is placed; a gradient magnetic field generation unit that applies a gradient magnetic field to the imaging space; a transmitting coil that transmits a high-frequency magnetic field to the object under examination in the imaging space; a receiving coil that receives a nuclear magnetic resonance signal from the object under examination; a sequencer that performs an imaging sequence by controlling the gradient magnetic field generation unit, the transmitting coil, and the receiving coil to capture an image; and a computation processing unit coupled to a memory, wherein the sequencer captures, with respect to an equal imaging region of the object under examination, a morphology image with a morphology expressed therein and a function image with a function expressed therein, and wherein the memory stores instructions that when executed by the computation processing unit causes the computation processing unit to: execute processing for deforming the morphology image using a deformation parameter to move positions of one or more structural objects included in the morphology image to respective positions of structural objects of a previously determined standard morphology thereby causing the morphology image to coincide with the standard morphology by performing normalization using non-linear conversion using at least the deformation parameter, and then to execute processing for deforming the function image using a value of the deformation parameter used in deforming the morphology image to cause a position of a region included in the function image to coincide with a position of a corresponding region of the standard morphology or processing for deforming the standard morphology in an opposite direction using the value of the deformation parameter to cause a position of a region of the structural object of the standard morphology to coincide with a position of a corresponding region included in the function image, wherein the imaging sequence is a sequence which implements a post labeling delay (PLD) according to a single PLD arterial spin labeling (ASL) method of setting one type of time required from start of labeling of blood to execution of imaging and performing imaging using the one type of time, and wherein the function image is an image of cerebral blood flow (CBF). ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, before deforming the function image, the computation processing unit executes processing for causing a position of a region included in the function image to coincide with a position of a corresponding region of the morphology image. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the standard morphology is a standard brain. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the morphology image is a T1-weighted image. ### Claim 5 A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus, comprising: a static magnetic field generation unit that applies a static magnetic field to an imaging space in which an object under examination is placed; a gradient magnetic field generation unit that applies a gradient magnetic field to the imaging space; a transmitting coil that transmits a high-frequency magnetic field to the object under examination in the imaging space; a receiving coil that receives a nuclear magnetic resonance signal from the object under examination; a sequencer that performs an imaging sequence by controlling the gradient magnetic field generation unit, the transmitting coil, and the receiving coil to capture an image; and a computation processing unit coupled to a memory, wherein the sequencer captures, with respect to an equal imaging region of the object under examination, a morphology image with a morphology expressed therein and a function image with a function expressed therein, and wherein the memory stores instructions that when executed by the computation processing unit causes the computation processing unit to: execute processing for deforming the morphology image using a deformation parameter to move positions of one or more structural objects included in the morphology image to respective positions of structural objects of a previously determined standard morphology thereby causing the morphology image to coincide with the standard morphology by performing normalization using non-linear conversion using at least the deformation parameter, and then to execute processing for deforming the function image using a value of the deformation parameter used in deforming the morphology image to cause a position of a region included in the function image to coincide with a position of a corresponding region of the standard morphology or processing for deforming the standard morphology in an opposite direction using the value of the deformation parameter to cause a position of a region of the structural object of the standard morphology to coincide with a position of a corresponding region included in the function image, wherein the function image is a cerebral blood flow image, wherein the standard morphology is a standard brain, and wherein the imaging sequence is a sequence which implements a post labeling delay (PLD) according to a multi-PLD arterial spin labeling (ASL) method of setting a plurality of types of times required from start of labeling of blood to execution of imaging and performing imaging using each of the plurality of types of times. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the function image is an image of at least one of arterial transit time (ATT) and image of cerebral blood flow (CBF). ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the computation processing unit executes calculating a degree of deviation of the deformed function image of the object under examination from a healthy function image obtained by deforming a function image previously obtained about a healthy subject in such a way as to cause the previously obtained function image to coincide with a position of a corresponding region of the standard morphology. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the computation processing unit executes setting a region of interest to the deformed function image of the object under examination, calculates a degree of deviation of the function image included in the region of interest from a corresponding region of the healthy function image, and displays the calculated degree of deviation to a user. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the computation processing unit executes setting a region of interest to the deformed function image, calculates a feature quantity previously determined about the function image included in the region of interest, calculates on which side of a previously obtained boundary between a distribution of the feature quantities of a plurality of healthy subjects and a distribution of the feature quantities of a plurality of persons with disease the calculated feature quantity is present, and calculates a distance of the calculated feature quantity from the boundary. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the function image includes a cerebral blood flow image and a quantitative magnetic susceptibility mapping image and the morphology image is a T1-weighted image, and wherein the computation processing unit executes calculating degrees of deviation of the cerebral blood flow image, the quantitative magnetic susceptibility mapping image, and an image included in a corresponding region of the T1-weighted image about the object under examination from the cerebral blood flow image, the quantitative magnetic susceptibility mapping image, and an image included in a corresponding region of the T1-weighted image about a healthy subject. ### Claim 11 An image processing apparatus comprising: a computation processing unit coupled to memory that receives, from a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus, the magnetic resonance imaging apparatus including a static magnetic field generation unit that applies a static magnetic field to an imaging space in which an object under examination is placed; a gradient magnetic field generation unit that applies a gradient magnetic field to the imaging space; a transmitting coil that transmits a high-frequency magnetic field to the object under examination in the imaging space; a receiving coil that receives a nuclear magnetic resonance signal from the object under examination; and a sequencer that performs an imaging sequence by controlling the gradient magnetic field generation unit, the transmitting coil, and the receiving coil to capture an image, a morphology image with a morphology expressed therein and a function image with a function expressed therein captured with respect to an equal imaging region of an object under examination, wherein, the memory stores instructions that when executed by the computation processing unit causes the computation processing unit to execute processing for: deforming the morphology image using a deformation parameter and to move positions of one or more structural objects included in the morphology image to respective positions of structural objects of a previously determined standard morphology thereby causing the morphology image to coincide with the standard morphology by performing normalization using non-linear conversion using at least the deformation parameter, and then deforming the function image using a value of the deformation parameter to cause a position of a region included in the function image to coincide with a position of a corresponding region of the standard morphology or processing for deforming the standard morphology in an opposite direction using the value of the deformation parameter to cause a position of a region of the structural object of the standard morphology to coincide with a position of a corresponding region included in the function image, wherein the imaging sequence is a sequence which implements a post labeling delay (PLD) according to a single PLD arterial spin labeling (ASL) method of setting one type of time required from start of labeling of blood to execution of imaging and performing imaging using the one type of time, and wherein the function image is an image of cerebral blood flow (CBF). ### Claim 12 An image processing method comprising: capturing a morphology image with a morphology expressed therein and a function image with a function expressed therein captured with respect to an equal imaging region of an object under examination obtained by a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus, the magnetic resonance imaging apparatus including a static magnetic field generation unit that applies a static magnetic field to an imaging space in which an object under examination is placed; a gradient magnetic field generation unit that applies a gradient magnetic field to the imaging space; a transmitting coil that transmits a high-frequency magnetic field to the object under examination in the imaging space; a receiving coil that receives a nuclear magnetic resonance signal from the object under examination; and a sequencer that performs an imaging sequence by controlling the gradient magnetic field generation unit, the transmitting coil, and the receiving coil to capture an image; deforming the morphology image using a deformation parameter to move positions of one or more structural objects included in the morphology image to respective positions of structural objects of a previously determined standard morphology thereby causing the morphology image to coincide with the standard morphology by performing normalization using non-linear conversion using at least the deformation parameter; and deforming the function image using a value of the deformation parameter to cause a position of a region included in the function image to coincide with a position of a corresponding region of the standard morphology or deforming the standard morphology in an opposite direction using the value of the deformation parameter to cause a position of a region of the structural object of the standard morphology to coincide with a position of a corresponding region included in the function image, wherein the imaging sequence is a sequence which implements a post labeling delay (PLD) according to a single PLD arterial spin labeling (ASL) method of setting one type of time required from start of labeling of blood to execution of imaging and performing imaging using the one type of time, and wherein the function image is an image of cerebral blood flow (CBF).