Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging with patient protection against nerve stimulation and image quality protection against artifacts
US5497773A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 14, 1994 |
| Grant date | Mar 12, 1996 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 14, 2014 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01R33/56527
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A nuclear magnetic resonance imaging scheme capable of reducing the eddy currents induced within the living body outside of the imaging region, so as to protect the patient against the nerve stimulation due to the eddy currents, and obtaining the MR images at high image quality by protecting the image quality against the N/2 and chemical artifacts. The nerve stimulation is prevented by providing a shield member for shielding a nerve stimulation sensitive portion of the patient located outside of the imaging region from a change of the gradient magnetic fields. The artifacts are prevented by applying a reading gradient magnetic field which is repeatedly switching its polarity along a phase encoding gradient magnetic field applied at a rate of once in every two switchings of the reading gradient magnetic field, separating the acquired NMR signals resulting from odd and even turns of switchings of the reading gradient magnetic field as separate data sets, and re-constructing MR images from the separate data set for odd turns and even turns separately.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.