To separate porosity from surface roughness, length scales for pore size and surface roughness are identified. These length scales are determined from surface roughness measurements and confirmed via NMR pore body calculations and pore size capillary pressure measurements. A filter removes pore contribution to surface roughness measurements and delivers intrinsic surface roughness. Additional filters and methods determine the minimum magnification on which to base surface roughness calculation, based on size of the field of view and where measured surface roughness approaches intrinsic surface roughness as magnification increases but larger magnification increase sampling time and difficulty. Sample irregularities, such as saw marks, are also filtered out or determined to be too large to remove via filter and another area of measurement is located. With the pore corrected quantification of surface roughness, surface relaxivity and pore distribution can be calculated with greater accuracy.

One aspect of the present disclosure provides an imaging method including: specifying an imaging focus region on a subject to be imaged, applying radiofrequency pulses to the subject to interact with a magnetic field gradient, wherein the radiofrequency pulses successively bend magnetization phases of respective electromagnetic signals from the specified imaging focus region, resulting in magnified pixel data, and generating a magnified image of the imaging focus region based on the magnified pixel data.

To separate porosity from surface roughness, length scales for pore size and surface roughness are identified. These length scales are determined from surface roughness measurements and confirmed via NMR pore body calculations and pore size capillary pressure measurements. A filter removes pore contribution to surface roughness measurements and delivers intrinsic surface roughness. Additional filters and methods determine the minimum magnification on which to base surface roughness calculation, based on size of the field of view and where measured surface roughness approaches intrinsic surface roughness as magnification increases but larger magnification increase sampling time and difficulty. Sample irregularities, such as saw marks, are also filtered out or determined to be too large to remove via filter and another area of measurement is located. With the pore corrected quantification of surface roughness, surface relaxivity and pore distribution can be calculated with greater accuracy.

A method for measuring soft tissue texture to identify diseased as opposed to normal tissue by identifying textural markers that distinguish diseased tissue from normal tissue and selecting a MRμT excitation sequence and associated parameters to reveal those markers. Data is then acquired in an MR scanner responsive to the selected MRμT excitation sequence to establish a multipoint time series data set. The acquired data is then analyzed for presence of the markers.

A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system (100) includes a memory (134) for storing machine executable instructions (140) and magnetic resonance fingerprinting (MRF) pulse sequence commands (142) which cause the MRI system to acquire MRF magnetic resonance data (144) according to an MRF protocol. The pulse sequence commands are configured for acquiring the MRF magnetic resonance data in two-dimensional slices (410, 412, 414, 416, 418, 420), having a slice selection direction. A train of pulse sequence repetitions includes a sampling event where the MRF data is repeatedly sampled. Execution of the machine executable instructions causes a processor to control the MRI system to: acquire (200) the MRF magnetic resonance data; construct (202) a series (148) of at least one magnetic resonance parameter value for each voxel of the two dimensional slices; and calculate (204) a composition (502, 504, 506, 508) of each of a set of predetermined substances within two or more sub-voxels (306, 308) for each voxel of the two dimensional slices using a sub-voxel magnetic resonance fingerprinting dictionary (150) for each of the two or more sub-voxels and the series of the at least one magnetic resonance parameter value. Each voxel in the slice selection direction is divided into two or more sub-voxels.

The present disclosure discusses systems and methods for imaging tissue. The system can reduce the amount of vibrations that are transmitted from a magnetic resonance imaging device to a tissue sample. The system can include a stabilization platform with at least one vibration dampener coupled towards either end of the stabilization platform. A fluid reservoir is coupled to the stabilization platform and a resonator is coupled to the exterior of the fluid reservoir.

One aspect of the present disclosure provides an imaging method including: specifying an imaging focus region on a subject to be imaged, applying radiofrequency pulses to the subject to interact with a magnetic field gradient, wherein the radiofrequency pulses successively bend magnetization phases of respective electromagnetic signals from the specified imaging focus region, resulting in magnified pixel data, and generating a magnified image of the imaging focus region based on the magnified pixel data.

The invention provides for a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system (100) that comprises a memory (134) for storing machine executable instructions (140) and MRF pulse sequence commands (142). The MRF pulse sequence commands cause the MRI system to acquire MRF magnetic resonance data (144) according to a magnetic resonance (MR) fingerprinting protocol. The pulse sequence commands are configured for acquiring the MRF magnetic resonance data in two dimensional slices (410, 412, 414, 416, 418, 420), wherein the two dimensional slices have a slice selection direction, wherein the pulse sequence commands comprises a train of pulse sequence repetitions. The train of pulse sequence repetitions comprises a sampling event where the MRF magnetic resonance data is repeatedly sampled. The MRI system further comprises a processor for controlling the magnetic resonance imaging system. Execution of the machine executable instructions causes the processor to: acquire (200) the MRF magnetic resonance data by controlling the magnetic resonance imaging system with the MRF pulse sequence commands; and construct (202) a series (148) of at least one magnetic resonance parameter value for each voxel of the two dimensional slices using the MRF magnetic resonance data, wherein each of the series corresponds to the sampling event of each pulse sequence repetition; and calculate (204) a composition (502, 504, 506, 508) of each of a set of predetermined substances within two or more sub voxels (306, 308) for each voxel of the two dimensional slices using a sub-voxel magnetic resonance fingerprinting dictionary (150) for each of the two or more sub voxels and the series of the at least one magnetic resonance parameter value, wherein sub voxels divide each voxel in the slice selection direction.

The present disclosure discusses systems and methods for imaging tissue. The system can reduce the amount of vibrations that are transmitted from a magnetic resonance imaging device to a tissue sample. The system can include a stabilization platform with at least one vibration dampener coupled towards either end of the stabilization platform. A fluid reservoir is coupled to the stabilization platform and a resonator is coupled to the exterior of the fluid reservoir.

A method for measuring soft tissue texture to identify diseased as opposed to normal tissue by identifying textural markers that distinguish diseased tissue from normal tissue and selecting a MRT excitation sequence and associated parameters to reveal those markers. Data is then acquired in an MR scanner responsive to the selected MRT excitation sequence to establish a multipoint time series data set. The acquired data is then analyzed for presence of the markers.