US 7,467,006 B2Granted

Magnetic resonance imaging system and contrast-enhanced angiography

AssigneeHitachi Medical Corporation

InventorsTakayuki Abe, Tetsuhiko Takahashi

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Abstract

An MRI system capable of acquiring a high-quality blood vessel image even during a measuring period other than at an injected contrast medium concentration peak by always picking up an image under optimum conditions while following up with an injected contrast medium concentration that changes every moment in the body. A flip angle is changed according to a contrast medium concentration b(t) as shown by a curve (102). During a period (Da) where a contrast medium concentration b(t) gradually increases, a flip angle (FA) increases according to a contrast medium concentration b(t); and during a period (Db) where a contrast medium concentration b(t) gradually decrease, a flip angle is gradually decreased. If a flip angle is controlled so as to follow up with a contrast medium concentration b(t) and reach an Ernst's angle at which a single intensity is at a maximum, a high-quality blood vessel image can be acquired even during a measuring period other than at an injected contrast medium concentration peak.

Claims22

Dependent claims

A magnetic resonance imaging system comprising:

static magnetic field generating means for applying a static magnetic field to an object to be examined;
gradient magnetic field generating means for applying a gradient magnetic field:
RF magnetic field transmitting means for irradiating, to nuclear spins within said object, RF magnetic field pulses to cause nuclear magnetic resonance of the nuclear spins;
an echo signal receiving means for detecting an echo signal emitted by the nuclear magnetic resonance;
pulse sequence control means for controlling a pulse sequence including at least a repetition time TR as an imaging parameter and executed to receive the echo signal;
signal processing means for reconstructing an image of a blood vessel by using the echo signal detected by said echo signal receiving means;
and
display means for displaying said blood vessel image,
wherein, during execution of said pulse sequence, said pulse sequence control means changes a value of the at least said repetition time TR in said pulse sequence depending on a concentration profile of a contrast agent, such that the repetition time has a shorter value during a higher concentration period than a value during a lower concentration period, which has been injected into said object, in said blood vessel.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 10/575,159Filed 5 Oct 2004
Priority: JP 2003-3479187 Oct 2003
Published: US 2007/0078333 A15 Apr 2007
Granted: 16 Dec 2008
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification2 codes

G01R 33/5601
Image enhancement or correction, e.g. subtraction or averaging techniques , e.g. improvement of signal-to-noise ratio and resolution: involving…
G01R
Measuring electric variables

Family

US 2007/0078333 A1Pre-grant publication · published 5 Apr 2007
US 7,467,006 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.

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