Merging magnetic resonance (MR) magnitude and phase images
AssigneesKabushiki Kaisha Toshiba, Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation
InventorsAiming Lu, Mitsue Miyazaki
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Abstract
A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system, process, display processing system and/or computer readable medium with stored program code structure thereon is configured to provide for obtaining a composite image which simultaneously includes information from a magnitude MR image and a phase MR image. The composite image is generated by assigning a first color display channel to the magnitude MR image and a second color display channel to the phase MR image, and generating the composite image by assigning to respective pixels in the composite image color values based upon a combination of corresponding pixels in the assigned first and second color display channels.
Claims22
A system for displaying a composite magnetic resonance (MR) image of a patient, said system comprising:
- a memory configured to store a magnitude MR image and a phase MR image based on complex-valued MR image data corresponding to nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) signals received in response to a radio frequency (RF) and magnetic gradient pulse sequence applied to the patient during a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan;
- and
- at least one digital data processor system configured to access said memory and:
- assign a first color display channel to the magnitude MR image and a second color display channel to the phase MR image;
- and
- generate a composite image of the magnitude MR image and the phase MR image by assigning to respective pixels in the composite image color values based upon a combination of corresponding pixels in the assigned first and second color display channels.
A machine-implemented process for displaying a composite magnetic resonance (MR) image of a patient, said machine-implemented process comprising:
- accessing, using at least one digital data processor, a magnitude MR image and a phase MR image, wherein the magnitude MR image and the phase MR image have been reconstructed from complex-valued MR image data corresponding to nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) signals received in response to a radio frequency (RF) and magnetic gradient pulse sequence applied to the patient during a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan;
- assigning, using at least one digital data processor, a first color display channel to the magnitude MR image and a second color display channel to the phase MR image;
- and
- generating, using at least one digital data processor, a composite image of the magnitude MR image and the phase MR image by assigning to respective pixels in the composite image color values based upon a combination of corresponding pixels in the assigned first and second color display channels.
A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing thereon machine-executable instructions that, when executed by at least one digital data processor, causes display of a composite magnetic resonance (MR) image of a patient by performing machine-implemented processes comprising:
- accessing a magnitude MR image and a phase MR image, wherein the magnitude MR image and the phase MR image are reconstructed from complex-valued MR image data corresponding to nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) signals received in response to a radio frequency (RF) and magnetic gradient pulse sequence applied to the patient during a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan;
- assigning a first color display channel to the magnitude MR image and a second color display channel to the phase MR image;
- and
- generating a composite image of the magnitude MR image and the phase MR image by assigning to respective pixels in the composite image color values based upon a combination of corresponding pixels in the assigned first and second color display channels.
A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system, said MRI system comprising:
- an MRI gantry including a static magnetic field generator, gradient magnetic field generators, and at least one radio frequency (RF) coil configured to couple with an object located in an imaging volume;
- an MRI sequence controller coupled to MRI gantry components and configured to effect an RF and magnetic gradient pulse sequence comprising an MR imaging pulse train to the imaging volume;
- and
- at least one digital data processor system configured to:
- receive digital data corresponding to nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) signals responsive to the MR imaging pulse train;
- form a magnitude MR image and a phase MR image based upon the received digital data;
- assign a first color display channel to the magnitude MR image and a second color display channel to the phase MR image;
- and
- generate a composite image of the magnitude MR image and the phase MR image by assigning to respective pixels in the composite image color values based upon a combination of corresponding pixels in the assigned first and second color display channels.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.