Method for improving spinal cord contrast in magnetic resonance imaging

A method for producing an MRI image, comprising the following steps:

• acquiring multiple intermediate images of a subject under analysis using alternating preparation phases;
• synchronizing the acquisitions with a physiological variable of the subject;
• forming a first set of intermediate images and a second set of intermediate images resulting from distinct preparation phases;
• assigning to each intermediate image a timestamp based on the time elapsed between the acquisition time of the current intermediate image and the acquisition time of the previous intermediate image;
• matching intermediate images of the first set with respective intermediate images of the second set based on their timestamps being equal within a tolerance margin;
• and
• producing a first candidate output image based on a function of the matched intermediate images;
• wherein it comprises the following steps:
• increasing the tolerance margin by an increment;
• reiterating the matching step to produce a further candidate output image;
• and
• selecting as an output image a candidate image based on the signal-to-noise ratio of the candidate image.