Disclosed is a training method including outputting an MRI signal from a plurality of coils included in an MRI scanner and performing, by a computing device, supervised learning on a post-processing part included in the computing device by using, as training input data, a first image generated using a first group of coils among the plurality of coils and using, as a label, a second image generated using a second group of coils among the plurality of coils.

A pulse-design unit for creating pulse data for controlling a magnetic resonance system includes a data interface configured for receiving an examination scheme, and a calculation module configured for generating pulse data based on an examination scheme. The pulse-design unit includes a data grid and/or parameter values created from map pairs of a plurality of patients and is configured to select and/or calculate pulse data using the data grid and/or parameter values and a provided examination scheme. A method and a control device for controlling a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system and a related magnetic resonance imaging system are also provided.

Electromagnetic interference (“EMI”) is mitigated for portable magnetic resonance imaging (“MRI”) systems using postprocessing interference suppression techniques that make use of EMI detectors external to the MRI system imaging volume to detect EMI signals and remove them from acquired magnetic resonance data. EMI correction models, including static transfer function-based models, dynamic transfer function-based models, correction weight-based models, or parallel imaging kernel-based models can be used to remove the EMI-related artifacts from the magnetic resonance data.

The present invention provides a multichannel radio frequency (RF) receive/transmit system (200) for use in an magnetic resonance (MR) imaging system (110), comprising a RF coil array (202) with multiple RF coil elements (204) for emission and reception of RF signals, whereby each RF coil element (204) is provided with tuning means (206), and a tuning/matching circuit (208) for comparing forward power provided to at least one of the RF coil elements (204) with reflected power at the respective RF coil element (204) of the at least one of the RF coil elements (204), and for tuning the at least one of the RF coil elements (204) based on a comparison of the forward power and the reflected power at least one of the RF coil elements (204). The present invention further provides a magnetic resonance (MR) imaging system (110) comprising the above multichannel RF receive/transmit system (200). Still further, the present invention further provides methods for performing magnetic resonance (MR) imaging using the above MR imaging system (110).

In a method and magnetic resonance (MR) apparatus for generating a combined MR image of an examination object, a first image data record of an examination object, generated from magnetic resonance data recorded with a first reception coil, is loaded into a computer. A second image data record of the examination object, generated from magnetic resonance data recorded with a second reception coil, wherein the first and the second reception coils are different reception coils, is also loaded into a computer. At least one interim image data record is generated by the computer by applying a mask function to the first and/or second image data record. An interim image data record is combined in the computer with the image data record to which no mask function was applied, or with the other interim image data record, to form a combined MR image.

In a structural analysis using NMR techniques, a method for gathering k-value data from frequency encoded spin echoes generated from internal volumes selectively excited by intersecting 90° and 180° slice selective and refocusing RF pulses and subjected to a read gradient for the purpose of quantifying the spatial frequency content of the selected internal volume without contamination by a FID signal, comprising: acquiring spin echo data such that the FID signal generated by imperfections in the 180° slice selective refocusing RF pulse is attenuated by the read gradient such that any remaining FID signal is spatially encoded with higher k-values than the frequency encoded k-values being recorded for subsequent structural analysis while simultaneously providing for t2 t2* and t1 contrast. Other aspects of the invention are disclosed.

To avoid discontinuities between echoes from becoming large level differences in a k-space and to reduce artifacts generated in a reconstructed image due to the discontinuities in the k-space, an MRI apparatus of the present invention uses phase characteristics of multiple echoes to be collected after a single RF excitation to control an arrangement order in the k-space where the multiple echoes are arranged when a pulse sequence of the fast spin echo method that collects the multiple echoes using a spin flip after a single RF excitation is executed. The arrangement is controlled so that echoes with small phase errors between the echoes at least near the center of the k-space are adjacent to each other.

In a method and apparatus for acquiring a magnetic resonance image data set of a scan area of an examination subject, the image data are acquired with a magnetic resonance apparatus having a transmitter coil that emits a radio-frequency signal having at least two transmission channels so that different polarizations of the radio-frequency signal are produced, and a magnetic resonance sequence is used to acquire raw data for the magnetic resonance image data set, wherein raw data are acquired during at least two scanning operations with the magnetic resonance sequence, with different polarizations of the radio-frequency signals being used for at least two of the at least two scanning operations, following which the magnetic resonance image data set is determined by averaging the raw data.

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for generating a specific flip angle distribution in magnetic resonance imaging; the method uses a plurality of RF transmission coils combined with linear and nonlinear spatial encoding magnetic fields to generate a homogeneous flip angle distribution.

A method of designing a pulse sequence for parallel-transmission MRI includes a) for each one of a plurality of subjects, estimating a linear adjustment transformation (L), converting amplitude maps of RF fields generated by respective transmit channels of a MRI apparatus into respective standardized maps; and b) determining RF waveforms (P) minimizing a discrepancy between subject-specific distributions of flip-angles of nuclear spin and a target distribution, averaged over said subjects, the subject-specific distributions corresponding to the flip-angle distributions achieved by applying a superposition of RF fields, each having a temporal profile described by one of said RF waveforms and a spatial amplitude distribution described by a respective standardized map determined for the subject. A method and an apparatus for performing parallel-transmission MRI using such a pulse sequence are provided.