Magnetic resonance method and apparatus to generate an image using a parallel acquisition technique

A magnetic resonance apparatus to generate magnetic resonance image data sets using a parallel acquisition technique, comprising:

• a magnetic resonance data acquisition units:
• a control unit configured to operate said data acquisition unit to radiate an excitation pulse into an examination subject and to generate a first echo train after said excitation pulse, said first echo train sufficiently densely scanning a segment of k-space to be scanned for an acquisition of coil calibration data, and to acquire said coil calibration data from said first echo train after said excitation pulse;
• a memory;
• said control unit being configured to store the acquired coil calibration data in a coil calibration data set in said memory;
• said control unit being configured to operate said data acquisition unit to generate a second echo train after said excitation pulse with no other excitation pulse intervening between said excitation pulse and said second echo train, said second echo train undersampling, according to the Nyquist theorem, a segment of k-space to be scanned for an acquisition of image data, and to acquire said image data from said second echo train after said excitation pulse;
• said control unit being configured to store the acquired image data in an incomplete image data set, in which data are missing due to said undersampling;
• and
• an image computer having access to said memory and configured reconstructing data, as reconstructed data, using a selected parallel acquisition reconstruction technique and using said coil calibration data, and to generate a complete image data set by substituting said reconstructed data for said data that are missing in the incomplete image data set due to the undersampling.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium encoded with programming instructions, said medium being loaded into a computer system of a magnetic resonance apparatus, comprising a magnetic resonance data acquisition unit, and said programming instructions causing said computer system to:

• operate said data acquisition unit to radiate an excitation pulse into an examination subject and to generate a first echo train after said excitation pulse, said first echo train sufficiently densely scanning a segment of k-space to be scanned for an acquisition of coil calibration data, and to acquire said coil calibration data from said first echo train;
• electronically store the acquired coil calibration data in a coil calibration data set;
• operate the data acquisition unit to generate a second echo train after said excitation pulse with no other excitation pulse intervening between said excitation pulse and said second echo train, said second echo train undersampling, according to the Nyquist theorem, a segment of k-space to be scanned for an acquisition of image data, and to acquire said image data from said second echo train;
• electronically store the acquired image data in an incomplete image data set, in which data are missing due to said undersampling;
• and
• reconstructing data, as reconstructed data, using a selected parallel acquisition reconstruction technique and using said coil calibration data, and generate a complete image data set by substituting said reconstructed data for said data that are missing in the incomplete image data set due to the undersampling.