US 5,315,248 AGranted

Method and apparatus for nuclear magnetic resonance for measuring speed of flowing target object

AssigneeKabushiki Kaisha Toshiba

InventorKojiro Yamaguchi

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Abstract

A nuclear magnetic resonance imaging for measuring a speed of a flowing target object, capable of determining the speed of the flowing target object accurately, even for the high speed flowing target object. Timings for an application of a pre-saturation pulse to a saturation plane producing a saturated portion within the flowing target object and an execution of an imaging pulse sequence to collect NMR signals from a desired imaging region containing a saturation plane and the saturated portion are controlled to realize a single slice multi-phase pulse sequence, at each phase of which an application of the pre-saturation pulse is followed by an execution of the desired imaging pulse sequence. The speed of the flowing target object is then determined by measuring a distance between the saturated portion and the saturation plane in each reconstructed NMR image, and dividing the measured distance by a time interval between an application of the pre-saturation pulse and a reception of the NMR signals in the single slice multi-phase pulse sequence.

Claims10

Dependent claims

An apparatus for nuclear magnetic resonance imaging for measuring a speed of a flowing target object, comprising:

pre-saturation means for applying a pre-saturation pulse to a desired saturation plane perpendicularly intersecting a flowing direction of the flowing target object, so as to produce a saturated portion within the flowing target object;
imaging means for executing a desired imaging pulse sequence to collect nuclear magnetic resonance signals from a desired imaging region containing the saturation plane and the saturated portion;
control means for controlling the pre-saturation means and the imaging means to realize a single slice multi-phase pulse sequence, at each phase of which an application of the pre-saturation pulse by the pre-saturation means is followed by an execution of the desired imaging pulse sequence by the imaging means;
and
means for determining the speed of the flowing target object by reconstructing a nuclear magnetic resonance image of the desired imaging region from the nuclear magnetic resonance signals collected by the imaging means at each phase of the single slice multi-phase pulse sequence, measuring a distance between the saturated portion and the saturation plane in each reconstructed nuclear magnetic resonance image, and dividing the measured distance by a time interval between an application of the pre-saturation pulse and a reception of the nuclear magnetic resonance signals in the single slice multi-phase pulse sequence.

2 more elements

A method of nuclear magnetic resonance imaging for measuring a speed of a flowing target object, comprising the step of:

applying a pre-saturation pulse to a desired saturation plane perpendicularly intersecting a flowing direction of the flowing target object, so as to produce a saturated portion within the flowing target object;
executing a desired imaging pulse sequence to collect nuclear magnetic resonance signals from a desired imaging region containing the saturation plane and the saturated portion;
controlling timings of the applying step and the executing step to realize a single slice multi-phase pulse sequence, at each phase of which an application of the pre-saturation pulse by the applying step is followed by an execution of the desired imaging pulse sequence by the executing step;
and
determining the speed of the flowing target object by reconstructing a nuclear magnetic resonance image of the desired imaging region from the nuclear magnetic resonance signals collected at the executing step at each phase of the single slice multi-phase pulse sequence, measuring a distance between the saturated portion and the saturation plane in each reconstructed nuclear magnetic resonance image, and dividing the measured distance by a time interval between an application of the pre-saturation pulse and a reception of the nuclear magnetic resonance signals in the single slice multi-phase pulse sequence.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 08/023,311Filed 26 Feb 1993
Priority: JP 4-0446722 Mar 1992
Granted: 24 May 1994
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification6 codes

G01R 33/56308
Of moving material, e.g. flow contrast angiography: characterization of motion or flow; Dynamic imaging
G01F 1/716
Measuring the time taken to traverse a fixed distance: using electron paramagnetic resonance [EPR] or nuclear magnetic resonance [NMR]
G01P 5/001
Measuring speed of fluids, e.g. of air stream; Measuring speed of bodies relative to fluids, e.g. of ship, of aircraft: full-field flow…
G01R
Measuring electric variables