An MR Spectroscopy (MRS) system and approach is provided for measuring spectral information corresponding with propionic acid (PA), either alone or in combination with other measurements corresponding with other chemicals, to diagnose and/or monitor at least one of bacterial infection, such as associated with P. acnes, or conditions related thereto such as nociceptive pain associated with tissue acidity. An interfacing DDD-MRS signal processor receives output signals to produce a post-processed spectrum, with spectral regions corresponding with certain chemicals, including PA, then measured as biomarkers. A diagnostic processor derives a diagnostic value for each disc, and performs certain normalizations, based upon ratios of the spectral regions related to chemicals implicated in degenerative painful tissue pathology, such as PA and hypoxia markers of lactic acid (LA) and alanine (AL), and structural chemicals of proteoglycan (PG) and collagen or carbohydrate (CA).

Systems and methods for fast and robust quantification of magnetization transfer (MT) use off-resonance spin-lock MRI with as few as two or three image acquisitions. Each image acquisition can be performed using an off-resonance spin-lock pulse having a different RF amplitude and frequency offset. A parameter representing the difference of the relaxation rate in the rotating frame between the acquisitions can be computed. This parameter can be used to compute other parameters of magnetization transfer.

Techniques of prospectively compensating for motion of a subject being imaged by an MRI system, the MRI system comprising a plurality of magnetics components including at least one gradient coil and at least one radio-frequency (RF) coil, the techniques comprising: obtaining first spatial frequency data and second spatial frequency data by operating the MRI system in accordance with a pulse sequence, wherein the pulse sequence is associated with a sampling path that includes at least two non-contiguous portions each for sampling a central region of k-space; determining a transformation using a first image obtained using the first spatial frequency data and a second image obtained using the second spatial frequency data; correcting the pulse sequence using the determined transformation to obtain a corrected pulse sequence; and obtaining additional spatial frequency data in accordance with the corrected pulse sequence.

A method for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is provided. The method may include obtaining scan data of a subject. The scan data may be acquired by an MR scanner at a time according to a pulse sequence. The method may include obtaining motion data of the subject. The motion data of the subject may be acquired by one or more sensors at the time. The motion data may reflect a motion state of the subject at the time. The method may also include determining, based on the motion data of the subject, a processing strategy indicating whether using the scan data to fill one or more k-space lines corresponding to the pulse sequence in a k-space. The method may further include obtaining k-space data based on the processing strategy.

A medical image processing apparatus including processing circuitry configured to obtain MR dynamic images acquired by MR imaging on a subject, in which a contrast agent has been injected, in accordance with an examination-time imaging condition including magnetic field information, contrast agent information, and/or tissue information, set a standard imaging condition, and calculate a first index value indicating a temporal change of an MR signal value caused by the contrast agent, the index value being standardized by conversion from the examination-time imaging condition to the standard imaging condition based on the MR dynamic images, the examination-time imaging condition, and the standard imaging condition.

A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system and method for acquiring magnetic resonance (MR) images using a pulse sequence implementing driven equilibrium and quadratic phase cycling techniques is provided. The method includes, during a pulse repetition period of a pulse sequence and using a quadratic phase cycling scheme, applying a first RF pulse to deflect a net magnetization vector associated with the subject from a longitudinal plane into a transverse plane; after applying the first RF pulse, applying a first sequence of RF pulses each of which flips the net magnetization vector by approximately 180 degrees within the transverse plane; and after applying the first sequence of RF pulses, applying a second RF pulse to deflect the net magnetization vector from the transverse plane to the longitudinal plane.

An imaging unit of an MRI apparatus performs imaging of a positioning image of a subject including a spine; a first imaging that images a cross section including the spine and extending along a longitudinal direction of the spine; and a second imaging that images a cross section in a direction of traversing the spine. An automatic cross-section position setting unit detects a specific tissue of the spine using a scout image or an image including the spine acquired in the first imaging step, performs a matching process between the detected specific tissue of the spine and a spine model, and calculates an imaging cross-section position of the second imaging based upon a specific tissue position of the spine specified by matching, thereby performing automatic setting.

An automatic clipping technique capable of satisfactorily extracting blood vessels to be extracted is provided. A specific tissue extraction mask image which is created by extracting a specific tissue (for example, a brain) from a three-dimensional image acquired by magnetic resonance angiography and a blood vessel extraction mask image which is created by extracting a blood vessel from an area (a blood vessel search area) which is determined using a preset landmark position and the specific tissue extraction mask image are integrated to create an integrated mask. By applying the integrated mask to the three-dimensional image, a blood vessel is clipped from the three-dimensional image.

Methods and apparatus for evaluating an impact of injury to brain networks or regions are provided. The method comprises receiving MRI data of a brain of an individual, including a first volumetric dataset recorded using first imaging parameters and a second volumetric dataset recorded using second imaging parameters, combining, on a voxel-by-voxel basis, first MRI data based on the first volumetric dataset and second MRI data based on the second volumetric dataset to produce a volumetric injury map, performing a structural-functional analysis of one or more brain networks or regions by refining the volumetric injury map using a volumetric eloquence map that specifies eloquent brain tissue within the one or more brain networks or regions to determine an impact of injury within the one or more brain networks or regions, and displaying a visualization of the determined impact of injury within the one or more brain networks or regions.

A system and method of generating a graphical representation of a network of a subject human brain. The method comprises receiving, via a user interface, a selection of the network of the subject brain; determining, based on an MRI image of the subject brain and one or more identifiers associated with the selection, one or more parcellations of the subject brain (405); determining, using three-dimensional coordinates associated with each parcellation, corresponding tracts in a diffusion tensor image of the brain (425); and generating a graphical representation of the selected network (430), the graphical representation including at least one of (i) one or more surfaces representing the one or more parcellations, each surface generated using the coordinates, and (ii) the determined tracts.