MR imaging utilizing ECG gating technique

A magnetic resonance imaging system comprising;

• means for acquiring a pulsatile signal indicative of cardiac temporal phases of a patient;
• means for performing a plurality of times a preparatory MR (magnetic resonance) scan with a region including an object to be imaged of the patient at each of different synchronizing time instants determined based on a predetermined reference point repeatedly appearing in the pulsatile signal, wherein MR signals are acquired by each scan;
• means for producing a plurality of preparatory images using the acquired MR signals;
• means for determining an appropriate synchronizing time instant for a cardiac synchronization technique on the basis of the plurality of preparatory images;
• and
• means for performing an imaging MR scan with the region of the patient in synchronization with the determined appropriate synchronization time instant.

A method of magnetic resonance imaging in which a pulsatile signal indicative of a cardiac temporal phase of a patient is acquired, said method comprising the steps of:

• performing a preparatory MR (magnetic resonance) scan with a region containing an object to be imaged of the patient to start at each of a plurality of time instants when a plurality of different delay times elapse respectively from a predetermined reference point included and repeated in the pulsatile signal, thus a plurality of preparatory images being produced;
• determining an appropriate synchronizing time instant for electrocardiogram (ECG) gating using the plurality of preparatory images;
• and
• subsequently performing an imaging MR scan with the region of the patient in synchronization with the appropriate synchronizing time instant.

A magnetic resonance imaging method for performing an imaging MR (magnetic resonance) scan based on a cardiac synchronization technique with an appropriate region of an object to be imaged, said method comprising:

• acquiring a pulsatile signal indicative of cardiac temporal phases of the object;
• performing a plurality of times a preparatory MR scan with the region at each of different synchronizing time instants measured from a predetermined reference point repeatedly appearing in the pulsatile signal, wherein an MR signal is acquired by each scan;
• producing a plurality of preparatory images, each assigned respectively to one of the corresponding plurality of different synchronizing time instants from the acquired MR signal;
• and
• using information about the plurality of preparatory images in the imaging MR scan.

A magnetic resonance imaging method comprising:

• acquiring a pulsatile signal indicative of cardiac temporal phases of a patient;
• performing a plurality of times a preparatory MR (magnetic resonance) scan with a region including an object to be imaged of the patient at each of different synchronizing time instants determined based on a predetermined reference point repeatedly appearing in the pulsatile signal, wherein MR signals are acquired by each scan;
• producing a plurality of preparatory images using the acquired MR signals;
• determining an appropriate synchronizing time instant for a cardiac synchronization technique on the basis of the plurality of preparatory images;
• and
• performing an imaging MR scan with the region of the patient in synchronization with the determined appropriate synchronization time instant.