A system and method for controlling a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system to create magnetic resonance (MR) angiograms of a subject. The method includes controlling the MRI system to acquire MR data by performing a pulse sequence that includes at least one set of modules formed by a first /2 module, a (readout, )n module, a second /2 module. In this case, denotes a radiofrequency (RF) flip angle and n denotes a number of times that the set of modules is repeated. The method also includes reconstructing an MR angiogram of the subject from the MR data.

A system and method for performing parallel magnetic resonance imaging (pMRI) process using a low-field magnetic resonance imaging (IfMRI) system includes a substrate configured to follow a contour of a portion of a subject to be imaged by the IfMRI system using a pMRI process. A plurality of coils are coupled to the substrate. Each coil in the plurality of coils has a number of turns and an associated decoupling mechanism selected to operate the plurality of coils to effectuate the pMRI process using the IfMRI system.

The invention presents an apparatus (6) for characterization of a condition of a vessel (12) wall of a living being (2). The relationship between temporal blood pressure (621) and blood flow (622) measurements of pulsatile blood motion within the vessel (12) is an indication of the health of the vessel (12) wall. Furthermore, the invention discloses a system (1) comprising the apparatus (6), and a method (100) of characterizing the condition of vessel (12) walls.

In a method and apparatus for capturing magnetic resonance data from an imaging volume of a patient in which liquid, such as particular blood, is moving, a bSSFP magnetic resonance sequence is executed in which nuclear spins located within the imaging volume are cyclically excited by radiation of a radio-frequency pulse, using a magnetic resonance scanner. A ramp pulse is used as the radio-frequency pulse, which establishes a flip angle of the spins that is spatially variable within the imaging volume. The flip angle is designed to be lower on a side or the imaging volume from which the liquid flows into the imaging volume than on the side at which the liquid flows out, and the flip angle increases monotonically.

An imaging system includes determination of a first gradient-modulated offset-independent adiabaticity pulse associated with a first bandwidth and a first gradient strength, determination of a second gradient-modulated offset-independent adiabaticity pulse associated with a second bandwidth less than the first bandwidth and a second gradient strength less than the first gradient strength, determination of a third asymmetric adiabatic pulse based on the first gradient-modulated offset-independent adiabaticity pulse and the second gradient-modulated offset-independent adiabaticity pulse, and control of a radio frequency system and gradient system to apply the third asymmetric adiabatic pulse to patient tissue.

A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to an embodiment includes sequence controlling circuitry. The sequence controlling circuitry applies a pre-pulse that inverts longitudinal magnetization from a positive value to a negative value and is configured, when a predetermined time period has elapsed, to acquire k-space data by performing three-dimensional acquisitions in which a radial acquisition is performed on a kx-ky plane and a Cartesian acquisition is performed in a kz direction.

A method for obtaining magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) echo-planar image (EPI) data, including providing a homogeneous, static background field; providing a gradient field to select a slice of an object for imaging; applying Radio-frequency (RF) pulses to excite magnetic resonance in the selected slice; and measuring a radio frequency signal emitted by the selected slice containing image data. The RF pulses are repeatedly applied separated by a time period shorter than a recovery time of static material in the selected slice such that the static material remains in a state of magnetic saturation, while dynamic material arriving within the slice since a previous RF pulse is not magnetically saturated.

A system for processing a medical image for personalized brain disease diagnosis and status determination, includes: an image processing unit, which obtains a 3D T1 weighted image, a 2D T2 fluid attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) image, a magnetic resonance angiogram (MRA) image, which images only a vessel for checking abnormality of a brain vessel, and a 4D phase-contrast flow image for recognizing a state of a blood flow in a vessel; a complex image analyzing unit, which selects a disease-to-be-diagnosed, sets a brain area according to the selected disease, and analyzes brain tissue and a brain vessel; and a personalized diagnosis and result output unit, which outputs a brain state, a disease-specific risk degree, a risk of disease, and a disease prediction result through a machine learning algorithm by utilizing an age-specific data DB.

Systems and methods are disclosed for assessing the quality of medical images of at least a portion of a patient's anatomy, using a computer system. One method includes receiving one or more images of at least a portion of the patient's anatomy; determining, using a processor of the computer system, one or more image properties of the received images; performing, using a processor of the computer system, anatomic localization or modeling of at least a portion of the patient's anatomy based on the received images; obtaining an identification of one or more image characteristics associated with an anatomic feature of the patient's anatomy based on the anatomic localization or modeling; and calculating, using a processor of the computer system, an image quality score based on the one or more image properties and the one or more image characteristics.

A computerized information processing method for evaluating blood vessels is provided. The method includes acquiring a series of sequences of measurements, each at different time points in at least one cardiac cycle and at a different point along a blood vessel segment of a subject, generating corresponding profiles, calculating a transfer function for a subsegment between two selected points along a blood flow direction, and based thereon determining the physiological property of the subsegment. The measurements can contain information of blood velocity or blood pressure. A processing device and system implementing the information processing method are also provided. This approach can be used to evaluate arteries or veins and can be applied in screening, diagnosis, or prognosis of a variety of vascular diseases. For example, when combined with MRI scan, this approach can be used for non-invasively diagnosing pulmonary hypertension (PH) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), etc.