Magnetic resonance imaging
US7230424B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 17, 2005 |
| Grant date | Jun 12, 2007 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 9, 2025 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01R33/56563
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
Through advancing the phase of radio frequency (RF) excitation with each phase-encoding level, a method and apparatus increases the effectiveness of a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) device by correcting for main magnetic field inhomogeneities without noticeably decreasing the signal-to-noise ratio. The present invention also increases the effectiveness of fast imaging with steady precession (FISP) scans and allows FISP scans to image multiple slices. In an MRI device, a patient is subjected to a constant magnetic field, and RF pulses are used to excite the nuclei in the patient's body. The nuclei release a corresponding RF signal as the nuclei relax, which can be measured and mapped into a visual display. The RF pulses used to excite the nuclei in the body cooperate with a slice select gradient and a phase-encoding gradient. When the RF pulse is phase shifted with each phase-encoding gradient level, improved signal-to-noise ratios are observed.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.