JP2008167768A - Magnetic resonance imaging apparatus and imaging method using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus which saves time and efforts to image a large region that cannot be imaged at a time by eliminating the need to change imaging conditions or to reset an imaging position or direction, and also to provide an imaging method using the same. <P>SOLUTION: When imaging a region larger than the maximum imaging range of the apparatus, an imaging region of a subject P is set in an input section 16 in advance. A control section 17 then divides the set imaging region into a plurality of imaging regions which do not contain magnetic field distortion larger than a predetermined permitted value. The control section 17 carries out plural times of imaging on the basis of the imaging divisions while moving a bed 4 on which the subject P lies by means of a bed control section 5 to generate an image of the set imaging region of the subject P. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus for imaging a wide area by performing imaging a plurality of times while changing the imaging position, and an imaging method therefor.

  In recent years, in a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus, a technique called wide-area imaging or bed movement imaging is used to capture a wide range that cannot be captured at one time by performing multiple imaging while moving the bed. Has come to be used.

  On the other hand, in the magnetic resonance imaging apparatus, a region where an image can be taken without distortion is limited.

Therefore, when imaging a wide area, in order to specify a range to be imaged, an operation is performed in which an imaging range is specified by a range that can be captured at one time (one station), and then an adjacent imaging range is specified. It was necessary to repeat until the end of the range to be imaged. Further, when specifying the imaging position, if it is too far from the center of the magnetic field, the edge of the captured image may be distorted, so it is necessary to set the imaging position in consideration that it is not too far away.
JP 2005-342515 A

  By the way, as described above, in order to specify a range to be imaged when imaging a wide area, an operation of specifying an imaging range within a range that can be captured at one time and then specifying an adjacent imaging range is desired to be captured. Repeating to the end of the range was time consuming and labor intensive.

  If the set imaging position is too far from the magnetic field center, a distorted image is captured as described above, and re-imaging is required. Alternatively, before imaging, if the device recognizes that the position where distortion greater than the allowable value is within the imaging range, imaging cannot be performed, so the imaging conditions can be changed and the imaging position and direction can be reset. There is a problem in that it takes time and effort that imaging cannot be performed unless it is performed.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to change imaging conditions, re-imaging positions and directions when imaging a wide range (a range wider than the maximum FOV) that cannot be captured at once. It is an object of the present invention to provide a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus and its imaging method that do not require setting and do not take time and labor.

  That is, the present invention provides a designation unit that designates a desired imaging range that is an image of a subject and is wider than the maximum imaging range, and a predetermined allowable value for the desired imaging range that is designated by the designation unit. A dividing unit that divides into a plurality of imaging ranges that do not include the above magnetic field distortion, and a generating unit that generates an image of the subject according to the plurality of imaging ranges divided by the dividing unit. To do.

  In addition, the present invention designates a range to be imaged in advance on a subject when imaging a range wider than the maximum imaging range of the apparatus, and the specified imaging range is set to a magnetic field distortion greater than a predetermined allowable value. Is divided into a plurality of imaging ranges that do not include the subject, and a plurality of times of imaging are performed based on the divided imaging ranges while moving the bed on which the subject is placed, and the designated imaging range of the subject It is characterized by obtaining an image.

  Furthermore, the present invention generates a static magnetic field, superimposes the gradient magnetic field generated by the gradient magnetic field coil on the static magnetic field, and applies the high frequency magnetic field from the transmission coil to the subject in the static magnetic field. In a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus for detecting a magnetic resonance signal generated in the image and acquiring an image from the magnetic resonance signal, a display means for displaying an image of the subject, and a display means for displaying the image of the subject. A designation unit that designates a desired imaging range wider than the imaging range, and the desired imaging range that is designated by the designation unit is divided into a plurality of imaging ranges that do not include a magnetic field distortion greater than or equal to a predetermined allowable value. A dividing unit; and a generating unit configured to generate an image of the subject according to the plurality of imaging ranges divided by the dividing unit and display the image on the display unit.

  According to the present invention, when imaging a range wider than the maximum imaging range of the apparatus, a step of specifying an imaging range for a subject in advance, and the specified imaging range is set to a magnetic field distortion greater than a predetermined allowable value. Dividing into a plurality of imaging ranges not including the image, and performing imaging a plurality of times while moving the subject based on the divided imaging ranges to obtain an image of the designated imaging range of the subject And a step.

  According to the present invention, when imaging a wide range that cannot be captured at a time, it is not necessary to change the imaging conditions or reset the imaging position and direction, and the magnetic resonance imaging apparatus that does not take time and effort and its An imaging method can be provided.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus (hereinafter abbreviated as an MRI apparatus) according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, an MRI apparatus 20 includes a static magnetic field magnet 1, a gradient magnetic field coil 2, a gradient magnetic field power supply 3, a bed 4, a bed control unit 5, a transmission RF coil 6, a transmission unit 7, The receiving RF coil 8, the receiving unit 9, and the computer system 10 are included.

  The static magnetic field magnet 1 has a hollow cylindrical shape and generates a uniform static magnetic field in an internal space. As the static magnetic field magnet 1, for example, a permanent magnet, a superconducting magnet or the like is used.

  The gradient magnetic field coil 2 has a hollow cylindrical shape and is disposed inside the static magnetic field magnet 1. The gradient magnetic field coil 2 is a combination of three types of coils corresponding to the X, Y, and Z axes orthogonal to each other. The gradient coil 2 generates a gradient magnetic field in which the three coils are individually supplied with electric current from the gradient magnetic field power supply 3 and the magnetic field strength changes along the X, Y, and Z axes. The Z-axis direction is, for example, the same direction as the static magnetic field.

  The gradient magnetic fields of the X, Y, and Z axes correspond to, for example, the slice selection gradient magnetic field Gs, the phase encoding gradient magnetic field Ge, and the readout gradient magnetic field Gr, respectively. The slice selection gradient magnetic field Gs is used to arbitrarily determine an imaging section. The phase encoding gradient magnetic field Ge is used to change the phase of the magnetic resonance signal in accordance with the spatial position. The readout gradient magnetic field Gr is used for changing the frequency of the magnetic resonance signal in accordance with the spatial position.

  The bed 4 is for placing the subject P on the top plate 41. The subject P is inserted into the cavity (imaging port) of the gradient coil 2 while being placed on the top 41 of the bed 4. The couchtop 41 of the couch 4 is driven by the couch controller 5 and is moved in the longitudinal direction and the vertical direction. Usually, the bed 4 is installed such that the longitudinal direction thereof is parallel to the central axis of the static magnetic field magnet 1.

  The transmission RF coil 6 is disposed inside the gradient magnetic field coil 2. The transmission RF coil 6 receives a high frequency pulse from the transmission unit 7 and generates a high frequency magnetic field.

  The transmission unit 7 includes an oscillation unit, a phase selection unit, a frequency conversion unit, an amplitude modulation unit, a high frequency power amplification unit, and the like. The oscillating unit generates a high-frequency signal having a resonance frequency unique to the target nucleus in a static magnetic field. The phase selection unit selects the phase of the high-frequency signal. The frequency conversion unit converts the frequency of the high-frequency signal output from the phase selection unit. The amplitude modulation unit modulates the amplitude of the high-frequency signal output from the frequency modulation unit, for example, according to a sync function. The high frequency power amplification unit amplifies the high frequency signal output from the amplitude modulation unit. Then, as a result of the operation of each of these units, the transmission unit 7 transmits a high-frequency pulse corresponding to the Larmor frequency to the transmission RF coil 6.

  The reception RF coil 8 is disposed inside the gradient magnetic field coil 2. The reception RF coil 8 receives a magnetic resonance signal radiated from the subject P due to the influence of the high-frequency magnetic field described above. An output signal from the reception RF coil 8 is input to the reception unit 9.

  The receiving unit 9 generates magnetic resonance signal data based on the output signal from the reception RF coil 8.

  The computer system 10 includes an interface unit 11, a data collection unit 12, a reconstruction unit 13, a storage unit 14, a display unit 15, an input unit 16 and a control unit 17.

  The interface unit 11 is connected to the gradient magnetic field power source 3, the bed control unit 5, the transmission unit 7, the reception RF coil 8, the reception unit 9, and the like. The interface unit 11 inputs and outputs signals exchanged between these connected units and the computer system 10.

  The data collection unit 12 collects digital signals output from the reception unit 9 via the interface unit 11. The digital signal collected by the data collecting unit 12, that is, the magnetic resonance signal data is stored in the storage unit 14.

  The reconstruction unit 13 performs post-processing, that is, reconstruction such as Fourier transform, on the magnetic resonance signal data stored in the storage unit 14, and the spectrum data or image data of the desired nuclear spin in the subject P Ask for.

  The storage unit 14 stores magnetic resonance signal data and spectrum data or image data for each patient.

  The display unit 15 displays various information such as spectrum data or image data under the control of the control unit 17. A display device such as a liquid crystal display can be used as the display unit 15.

  The input unit 16 receives various commands and information input from the operator. As the input unit 16, a pointing device such as a mouse or a trackball, a selection device such as a mode change switch, or an input device such as a keyboard can be used as appropriate.

  The control unit 17 includes a CPU, a memory, and the like (not shown), and comprehensively controls the MRI apparatus 20 of the present embodiment. The control unit 17 has the following various functions in addition to a control function for realizing a well-known function in the MRI apparatus 20.

  One of these functions is to set a region of interest (ROI) for each of a plurality of, for example, two images (parent images) to be joined in response to an operator operation. One of the functions generates, for each parent image, an edge image as an evaluation image representing the characteristics of the parent image for evaluating the continuity of the image from the region of interest. One of the functions is to extract a tangent vector in the edge image. In addition, one of the functions described above generates a joined image by joining the parent images based on the extracted tangent vectors. One of the functions is to set the relative positional relationship between the edge images according to the operation by the operator. Furthermore, one of the functions described above generates a joined image by connecting parent images arranged in a positional relationship based on the positional relationship of edge images. One of the functions is to display the generated joint image on the display unit 15 by superimposing a maximum intensity projection (MIP) image or a spine image as necessary.

  Next, the operation of the MRI apparatus 20 configured as described above will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  Since the operation for imaging the subject P is the same as that of a conventional MRI apparatus, detailed description thereof is omitted here.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining an operation for obtaining a distortion-free captured image by wide-area imaging wider than the imaging area in the present embodiment. This processing operation is mainly performed under the control of the control unit 17.

  When this sequence is started, first, in step S1, images 21 and 22 of the subject for specifying the imaging range are displayed on the display unit (monitor) 15 as shown in FIG. Is displayed. Next, in step S2, for the image displayed on the display unit 15, a sequence for performing wide area imaging is selected by the operator, and imaging conditions are determined. These imaging conditions are input via the input unit 16. It should be noted that the sequence selected here can be specified as a single type or as a plurality of different sequences for each imaging.

  In step S3, it is determined whether the imaging conditions have been determined. If the imaging conditions have not been determined yet, the process proceeds to step S2. If the imaging conditions are determined in step S3, the process proceeds to step S4.

  In step S4, the range to be imaged is designated by the operator on the images 21 and 22 displayed on the display unit 15. This range designation is performed, for example, by clicking the start position 25 and the end position 26 with a pointing device such as a mouse, as shown in FIG.

  Next, in step S5, it is determined whether or not there is an overlap area in the parent image in the captured range. Here, if an overlap region is included in the parent image in the imaging range, the process proceeds to step S6, and the adjacent parent images are overlapped and displayed by the control unit 17. If the overlap area is not included in the parent image, step S6 is skipped, and the control unit 17 displays the image in a state where the ends of the adjacent parent images are in contact with each other. Note that the overlap amount of the parent image may be input by an operator, or may be determined automatically by the control unit 17 based on conditions at the time of imaging.

  Thereafter, it is determined in step S7 whether or not the setting has been completed. Here, when the setting has not been completed yet, the process proceeds to step S2 and the subsequent processing operations are repeated. When the setting is completed, an imaging position determination button (not shown) in the input unit 16 is pressed by the operator.

  Then, in step S8, one imaging range (one imaging range (station)) is obtained from the number of slices and the slice gap of the imaging conditions set by the operator according to the sequence selected in step S2. It is done. Then, the range designated in step S4 is divided, and for example, as shown in FIG. 3B, ROI images 31, 32, 33, and 34 representing individual imaging ranges are displayed on the display unit 15. Is done.

  In the example of FIG. 3, the captured image is not distorted as a result of calculating a position where distortion greater than a predetermined allowable value is generated from the start position 25 and end position 26 specified on the parent images 21 and 22. The ROI representing the possible range is represented as images 31, 32, 33, and 34 as shown in FIG. In this case, the number of slices was planned to be two as the parent image. However, considering the distortion, the image 31, the image 34, and the images 32 and 33 are joined as shown in FIG. The number of images 35 is changed to three.

  Next, in step S9, the imaging range is determined. If the imaging range is not OK, the process proceeds to step S4 and the subsequent processing operations are repeated. That is, when the imaging range is to be changed, the process proceeds to step S4, where the imaging range (one imaging range (station)) is changed at one time, the imaging count is changed, or the entire imaging range is changed. Alternatively, conditions such as changing the overlap amount of the individual imaging ranges in step S6 are changed. The above-described processing operations are repeated until these conditions are changed and the imaging range becomes OK in step S9.

  When the imaging range and position are determined and the imaging range becomes OK in step S9, the imaging start button in the input unit 16 is pressed by the operator, and imaging is started. Thereby, the couch 4 is driven from the interface unit 11 via the couch controller 5, and imaging is performed while moving the couch 4 according to the imaging range described above.

  For example, the control unit 17 generates an edge image for each of the parent images, and the line segments constituting the edge image are included in the ROI. The tangent vector is obtained, and further, the tangent vector obtained for each of the adjacent edge images is evaluated, and the images are connected to generate a joined image.

  The operation for obtaining a captured image by wide-area imaging in the present embodiment is that the reconstructed image is imaged for each station with an FOV with little magnetic field distortion (no magnetic field distortion). The function is applied in the case of moving the top plate between a plurality of stations.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, when a wide range that cannot be captured at one time (a range wider than the maximum FOV) is captured, the captured image is not distorted by simply specifying the entire range to be captured once. As a single imaging range (station), the operation of moving the bed after imaging and shifting the imaging position to perform imaging can be performed a plurality of times, and the entire range to be imaged can be imaged.

  In addition, one imaging range (station) can be changed by the maximum imaging area in which no magnetic field distortion occurs or an operator arbitrarily specifying it. Furthermore, it is possible to specify that the imaging ranges of adjacent images are overlapped.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, one imaging range (station) has been described as a range in which no magnetic field distortion occurs. However, the imaging range (station) includes a portion in which distortion occurs, for example, when the operator determines that it is not a main part. There may be.

  The present embodiment can be modified in various ways as follows.

  The parent image can also be a volume image. If the operator designates the area on the slice image in the same manner as in the above embodiment, the designated area is similarly applied to a plurality of slices arranged in the slice direction with respect to the display slice. Operator operations can be simplified.

  The region designation by the operator for setting the ROI may be performed individually for each parent image.

  Further, by performing the same processing as described above three-dimensionally, it is possible to generate a joined image obtained by joining three-dimensional images.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, in the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention other than embodiment mentioned above, this invention can be variously modified.

  Further, the above-described embodiments include inventions at various stages, and various inventions can be extracted by appropriately combining a plurality of disclosed constituent elements. For example, even if some constituent requirements are deleted from all the constituent requirements shown in the embodiment, the problem described in the column of the problem to be solved by the invention can be solved, and the effect described in the column of the effect of the invention Can be extracted as an invention.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart for explaining an operation for obtaining a captured image without distortion by wide area imaging wider than the imaging area in an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the operation | movement for obtaining the captured image without distortion by the imaging range and wide area imaging in one Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Static magnetic field magnet, 2 ... Gradient magnetic field coil, 3 ... Gradient magnetic field power supply, 4 ... Bed, 5 ... Bed control part, 6 ... Transmission RF coil, 7 ... Transmission part, 8 ... Reception RF coil, 9 ... Reception part, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Computer system, 11 ... Interface part, 12 ... Data collection part, 13 ... Reconstruction part, 14 ... Memory | storage part, 15 ... Display part, 16 ... Input part, 17 ... Control part, 20 ... Magnetic resonance imaging apparatus (MRI) apparatus).

Claims (9)

A designation means for enabling designation of a desired imaging range wider than the maximum imaging range;
A dividing unit that divides the desired imaging range designated by the designation unit into a plurality of imaging ranges that do not include a magnetic field distortion greater than or equal to a predetermined allowable value;
Imaging means for imaging in the plurality of imaging ranges divided by the dividing means;
A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus comprising: Further comprising display means for displaying a desired imaging range of the subject to be designated by the designation means;
The magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the designating unit is capable of designating the desired imaging range in the image of the subject displayed on the display unit. Further comprising setting means for setting a region of interest representing the plurality of imaging ranges divided by the dividing means;
The magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the display unit displays a plurality of the regions of interest set by the setting unit.   The magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the display unit superimposes and displays a part of a plurality of imaging ranges divided by the dividing unit.   The magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the display unit can change an amount of a superimposed display portion of the plurality of imaging ranges.   The magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the dividing unit divides the desired imaging range into the plurality of imaging ranges according to the number of slices.   The magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the dividing unit divides the desired imaging range into the plurality of imaging ranges according to a slice gap.   The magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the determination unit can change the number of times of imaging of the subject. When imaging a range wider than the maximum imaging range, designating a range to be imaged in advance on the subject; and
Dividing the designated imaging range into a plurality of imaging ranges not including a magnetic field distortion greater than or equal to a predetermined allowable value;
Performing multiple times of imaging while moving the subject based on the divided imaging range to obtain an image of the designated imaging range of the subject;
An imaging method for a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus, comprising:

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