Motion corrected magnetic resonance imaging

Abstract

A method of correcting for motion in magnetic resonance images of an object detected by a plurality of signal receiver coils comprising the steps of acquiring a plurality of image signals with the plurality of receiver coils, determining motion between sequential image signals relative to a reference, applying rotation and translation to image signals to align image signals with the reference, determining altered coil sensitivities due to object movement during image signal acquisition, and employing parallel imaging reconstruction of the rotated and translated image signals using the altered coil sensitivities in order to compensate for undersampling in k-space.

Description

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

[0001] The U.S. government has rights in the claimed invention pursuant to NIH Grant Nos. NIH-1R01EB002771, NIH-1R01NS35959, NIH-NCRR-P41-RR09784, 1R01NS047607 and 5R01NS34866 to Stanford University.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] This invention relates generally to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and more particularly the invention relates to the correction of magnetic resonance imaging for motion of the imaged body.

[0003] Involuntary patient motion is still one of the greatest challenges in MRI. Due to the sequential nature of the MR acquisition process, a significant amount of time can elapse between different samples in k-space, leaving many MRI sequences vulnerable to patient motion. The resulting increase in misregistration can severely impair the diagnostic quality of an MR examination. The medical condition of a patient, such as tremor, pain, or mental status, often prevents even willing patients from holding ...

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