Magnetic resonance imaging utilizing a microcoil
AssigneeKoninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.
InventorsMiha Fuderer, Johannes Jacobus Van Vaals
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Abstract
The invention relates to an interventional magnetic resonance method utilizing a microcoil. The method enables localization of an interventional instrument by detection of magnetic resonance signals from the surroundings of the microcoil under the influence of magnetic field gradients. The outstanding reliability and the high speed of the method are due to the application of spatially non-selective RF pulses in conjunction with a sequence of gradient pulses in non-colinear directions. The localization method can be used inter alia for angiography wherein the signal intensity is used to determine the amount of blood present in the blood vessel. The invention also relates to a magnetic resonance apparatus for carrying out the method.
Claims21
A magnetic resonance method for localizing an interventional instrument (1) on which at least one microcoil (6) is provided, first a magnetic resonance signal being generated in an examination zone by means of an RF pulse (7), said magnetic resonance signal subsequently being detected via the microcoil and under the influence of magnetic field gradients, characterized in that, said RF-pulse (7) is a non-selective RF-pulse and after application of the non-selective RF pulse (7), two or more gradient pulses (8, 10, 11) having a respective linearly independent spatial direction are generated in temporal succession, the position of the microcoil (6) in the relevant spatial direction being determined from the frequency of the magnetic resonance signal during each gradient pulse.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.