Systems and methods for predicting errors and optimizing protocols in quantitative magnetic resonance imaging

US10684340B1 · kind B1 · utility

Assignees

• Siemens Healthcare Limited · DE
• Duke University · US

Inventors

• Xiaodong Zhong · Marietta, US
• Marcel Dominik Nickel · Herzogenaurach, DE
• Stephan Kannengiesser · Erlangen, DE
• Brian Dale · Euclid, US
• Berthold Kiefer · Erlangen, DE
• Mustafa R. Bashir · Cary, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Jan 8, 2019
• Grant date: Jun 16, 2020
• Expiry date: Jan 8, 2039

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G01R33/543
• WIPO field: Measurement
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

A magnetic resonance imaging system and method are provided for improved determination of noise bias effects in calculating fitted parameters for quantitative MRI procedures. The system and method includes selecting a range for the SNR and fitted parameter values, and for each of a plurality of base pairs of these values and for a plurality of b values, adding a random noise term to the real and imaginary components of a plurality of corresponding signal terms, fitting magnitudes of the resulting “noisy” signals to determine a “noisy” fitted parameter value, and compare the “noisy” and base fitted parameter values to determine a noise-based error for each pair of base values. The noise-based errors can be used to generate an error map, modify imaging parameters to reduce such errors, or correct fitted parameters directly.