Multi-Slice Cardiac MRI Heartbeat Interval Selection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current cardiac magnetic resonance tomography methods, particularly prospective gating, face challenges in achieving high resolution and reliable heart function calculation due to arrhythmic heartbeats, which result in variable heartbeat durations across slices, leading to artifacts and reliance on subjective radiologist or cardiologist estimation.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus for generating a three-dimensional multi-slice data set of the heart by acquiring image sequences in multiple slices during varying heartbeat intervals, selecting images within intervals closest to a reference interval, and combining them to balance arrhythmia, allowing for precise heart function calculation and improved resolution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If prospective gating is used to handle arrhythmic heartbeats, then artifacts are reduced, but resolution decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the image acquisition process by slice, allowing each slice to be acquired during its optimal heartbeat interval while maintaining consistent timing across all slices through the excision process
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the temporal parameter selection by identifying and selecting heartbeat intervals with minimal variation from the mean interval, thereby optimizing both resolution and artifact reduction
2Loss of time
If a single heartbeat is acquired for functional calculation, then acquisition time is reduced, but functional calculation reliability deteriorates due to varying heartbeat durations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary selection of heartbeat intervals with minimal duration variation before functional calculation, ensuring that the selected intervals are suitable for reliable multi-slice functional analysis
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses feedback from heartbeat interval duration analysis to selectively excise images from appropriate intervals, ensuring consistent timing for accurate functional calculation across all slices
3Quantity of substance
If image sequences from multiple slices are combined without excision, then data completeness is improved, but arrhythmia artifacts increase due to varying heartbeat intervals
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes images from heartbeat intervals that do not match the reference interval duration, thereby eliminating the source of arrhythmia artifacts while preserving data from suitable intervals
Solution Approach 2:
The patent achieves homogeneity in the combined image sequence by selecting only those images from heartbeat intervals with consistent duration characteristics across all slices
Data Source
AI summary
In a method and apparatus for generating a three-dimensional multi-slice data set of a heart, a first image sequence with a number of two-dimensional images is acquired in a first slice of the heart during a duration of at least one heartbeat interval, and a second image sequence with a number of two-dimensional images is acquired in a second slice of the heart during the duration of a number of heartbeat intervals. The second image sequence is excised by selecting the two-dimensional images thereof that lie in a heartbeat interval closest to the duration of the heartbeat interval in the first slice. The three-dimensional multi-slice data set is generated by combining the first image sequence and the excised second image sequence.