Patents Assigned to Department of Defense, United States Government
  • Patent number: 6580937
    Abstract: A method and apparatus are disclosed for creating peripheral MR angiographic images and performing an MRA examination using an intravascular contrast agent in which MR data acquisition is optimized in the most distal stations in a multi-station acquisition. The technique includes administering a contrast agent into the blood stream of the patient, acquiring low spatial resolution MR images of the arterial vasculature, and tracking the passage of the contrast agent through the patient. The patient table is moved in response to the tracking. The technique continues to acquire low spatial resolution images at each of the proximal stations until the most distal station is reached where a high spatial resolution image data set is then acquired of preferentially arterial vascular structures. Higher spatial resolution images are then acquired in the proximal stations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 30, 2000
    Date of Patent: June 17, 2003
    Assignees: GE Medical Systems Global Technology Co., LLC, Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences, Department of Defense, United States Government
    Inventors: Vincent B. Ho, Thomas K. F. Foo
  • Patent number: 6408201
    Abstract: A method and apparatus is disclosed to initially screen a patient's peripheral arterial vasculature for lesions, or stenotic vessels, using MR technology, and then grading the severity of any located stenosis. The invention includes tracking the passage of a contrast agent bolus through a patient, while acquiring a series of first MR images having low resolution. This initial examination uses flow sensitive bi-polar gradient waveforms with a gradient echo imaging pulse sequence to increase the sensitivity to lesion detectability. The bi-polar gradients generate a broad distribution of velocities in a large voxel. Relevant stenoses present in a voxel will result in intra-voxel flow dephasing in voxels immediate to and distal to the stenosis. After identifying a stenosis, a second MR image, having a higher resolution than the first, is used to grade the stenosis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 2000
    Date of Patent: June 18, 2002
    Assignees: General Electric Company, Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences, Department of Defense, United States Government
    Inventors: Thomas K. F. Foo, Vincent B. Ho