Correction of NMR data acquired by an echo-planar technique

A method for correcting phase errors produced by an NMR system during the acquisition of an NMR image data array using an echo-planar pulse sequence, the steps comprising:

• a) acquiring the NMR image data array with the NMR system using an echo-planar pulse sequence which applies a different phase encoding magnetic filed gradient for each row of acquired NMR image data in the array;
• b) acquiring an array of complex NMR reference data with the NMR system using the same echo-planar pulse sequence, but with the phase encoding magnetic field gradient set to substantially zero during the acquisition of the entire array of complex NMR reference data;
• c) Fourier transforming each row of the array of complex NMR reference data to produce an array of complex transformed reference data;
• d) calculating a set of phase errors by determining the relative phase of data in each row of the array of complex transformed reference data;
• e) Fourier transforming each row of the array of complex NMR image data to produce an array of complex transformed NMR image data;
• f) correcting the complex transformed NMR image data by altering the phase of complex values therein as a function of the set of calculated phase errors;
• g) Fourier transforming each column of the array of corrected, complex, transformed NMR image data to produce an array of display data;
• and
• H) displaying the array of display data to produce an image.