US 7,679,363 B2Granted

Magnetic resonance imaging apparatus and method of exciting two slices intersecting each other with the intersection parallel moved during spin echo reception

AssigneeGE Medical Systems Global Technology Company, LLC

InventorYuko Suwa

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Abstract

With the objective of eliminating variations in signal strength, there is provided a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus in which the process of 90°-exciting and 180°-exciting spins of two slices intersecting each other respectively and receiving a spin echo generated from an intersection thereof is repeated while the intersection is sequentially parallel-moved to a plurality of lines, thereby to generate, based on the received spin echo, a two-dimensional image at the time that the plural lines are seen in a projection direction. In the magnetic resonance imaging apparatus, the lines are set at a matrix in which a phase direction is defined as a row direction and the projection direction is defined as a column direction. A plurality of the lines at which a predetermined number of column intervals are defined as mutual intervals are set in the respective rows. One line is set to each column. The numbers of the lines in the respective rows are common divisors for the number of the columns in the matrix and set identical to one another between the respective rows.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus comprising:

a radio frequency (RF) coil unit configured to transmit a 90° pulse and a 180° pulse in which a scan for 90°-exciting and 180°-exciting spins of two slices intersect each other, said RF coil unit further configured to receive a spin echo generated from the intersection thereof;
a controller configured to sequentially parallel move the intersection to a plurality of scan positions;
a display device;
and
a processor programmed to:
generate, based on the received spin echo, a two-dimensional image at the time that the plural scan positions are seen in a predetermined projection direction orthogonal to the intersection;
set the plurality of scan positions at a matrix of plural rows and plural columns in which a plurality of positions arranged at first intervals in the direction orthogonal to the intersection and the projection direction are defined as rows, and a plurality of positions arranged at second intervals in the projection direction are defined as columns;
set a plurality of the scan positions at which a predetermined number of the first intervals are defined as mutual intervals in respective rows of a matrix;
set one of the plurality of scan positions to each column of the matrix;
and
set the number of the plurality of scan positions in the respective rows identical to one another between the respective rows, the number of the plurality of scan positions in the respective rows being common divisors for the number of the columns in the matrix.

8 more elements

A magnetic resonance imaging method comprising:

90°-exciting and 180°-exciting spins of two slices intersecting each others, respectively;
receiving a spin echo generated from the intersection thereof;
sequentially parallel-moving the intersection to a plurality of scan positions;
setting the plurality of scan positions, via a processor, at a matrix of a plurality rows and a plurality columns in which a plurality of positions arranged at first intervals in a direction orthogonal to the intersection and a projection direction are defined as rows, and a plurality of positions arranged at second intervals in the projection direction are defined as columns;
setting a plurality of the scan positions at which a predetermined number of the first intervals are defined as mutual intervals, via the processor, in respective rows of the matrix;
setting one of the scan positions, via the processor, to each column of the matrix;
setting the number of the plurality of scan positions in the respective rows identical to one another between the respective rows, the number of the plurality of scan positions in the respective rows being common divisors for the number of the columns in the matrix;
generating, via the processor, based on the received spin echo, a two-dimensional image on a display device at the time that the plural scan positions are seen in a predetermined projection direction orthogonal to the intersection;
and
displaying, on a display device, the two-dimensional image.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.