Abstract: Exemplary system, method and computer arrangement for determining rotational invariants, fiber orientations, and scalar parameters of fiber tracts (e.g., compartment fractions, which can relate to intra/extra-cellular space volumes; compartment diffusivities; relaxation rates; exchange rates between compartments; characteristics of structural disorder such as axonal beading) from a general diffusion MRI acquisition is described. For example, gradient directions may not necessarily be arranged in so-called shells, and an acquisition may vary spatially. Furthermore, each acquisition can be undersampled in the k-space. A procedure can also be included for receiving information related to the at least one image. Another procedure can be provided for decoupling tissue and protocol parameters based on a singular value decomposition. A further procedure can be provided for grouping singular vectors into multiplets based on symmetries.

Abstract: A system for RF based frequency encoding utilizing a Bloch-Siegert shift, includes a controller, an RF encoding system, and an injection transformer simultaneous transmit and receive filter. The controller generates RF excitation pulses, RF based frequency encoding pulses, and a cancellation signal. The RF encoding system includes one or more RF coils configured to transmit the RF excitation pulses and RF based frequency encoding pulses, and to receive an MR signal from the subject where the MR signal includes a leakage signal induced by the RF based frequency encoding pulses. The injection transformer simultaneous transmit and receive filter is in signal communication with the controller and the RF encoding system. The injection transformer simultaneous transmit receive filter is configured to receive the cancellation signal, the MR signal including the leakage signal, and to cancel the leakage signal from the received MR signal to generate a filtered MR signal.

Abstract: In a method for processing fully sampled k-space MRI imaging data associated with a tissue of interest within a FOV, a neural network may be trained using undersampled k-space MRI imaging data associated with the tissue of interest. At least one subset of the fully sampled k-space MRI imaging data may be obtained based on an input dimension of the trained neural network such that a dimension of each one of the at least one subset is the same as the input dimension. Each one of the at least one subset of the fully sampled k-space MRI imaging data may be processed by the trained neural network, respectively. Spatial domain MRI imaging data associated with the tissue of interest within the FOV may be accordingly determined based on corresponding output of the trained neural network.

Abstract: According to an aspect of the present inventive concept there is provided a method of magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of an object positioned in an examination volume of an MR scanning device, the method comprising: acquiring, by the MR scanning device, multiple parallel, segmented acquisitions from the object, comprising: applying an R2 sensitizing phase; acquiring a first acquisition; applying an R1 sensitizing phase; acquiring a second acquisition; waiting for a delay time; and acquiring a third acquisition; wherein each acquisition comprises measuring at least three echoes at different echo times (TE); calculating multiple physical properties of the object based on at least some of the at least three acquisitions.

Abstract: A method and a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system improve an MRI signal from a magnetization of interest. The method includes performing an MRI pulse sequence containing three consecutive radio frequency (RF) elements, namely, a first element that is an inversion-recovery pulse sequence characterized by a time of inversion, a second element that is an image-encoding pulse sequence starting at the time of inversion with an excitation RF pulse followed by an image-encoding gradient and a data sampling. The second element is followed by a third element. An MRI signal generated by the object and sampled by image readout blocks applied to the object by the MRI system during each repetition time, is acquired. From the MRI signal, an image of the object is reconstructed. The third element is a modified driven-equilibrium (mDE) pulse sequence configured for achieving a conversion of a transverse magnetization component.

Abstract: A method for determination of an indicator representative of a change in the brain caused by a demyelinating disease, the method including, for each region of interest of the brain, determining a regional coefficient of one of the following diffusion coefficients: the radial diffusion, the axial diffusion, the mean diffusion, the anisotropy fraction, or a combination of several of these coefficients, the regional coefficients being determined from a diffusion MRI image; determining a number of changed regions, for which a condition relating to the value of the regional diffusion coefficient of each region is satisfied; and determining the indicator in accordance with the number of changed regions.

Abstract: A method for imaging a subject using an MRI system includes determining a plurality of echo times and then acquiring a plurality of variable echo time signals corresponding to the plurality of echo times at a plurality of k-space locations. In the method, a water k-space data signal and a fat k-space data signal is generated for each of the plurality of k-space locations based on the plurality of variable echo time signals corresponding to that k-space location. Finally, the method includes generating a medical image of the subject based on water k-space data signals and fat k-space data signals at the plurality of k-space locations respectively.

Abstract: Images are reconstructed from k-space acquired with a magnetic resonance imaging (“MRI”) system using a multi-shot pulse sequence. In each iteration, a phase-aware image reconstruction, a data-consistency update across all shots or subsets of data, and a relative phase estimation across the reconstructed images for each shot are performed. In this way, the reconstruction framework recasts the problem as an iterative relative phase estimation problem, which allows for the use relative phase estimation techniques. Through an iterative search, an artifact-free combined image and the smooth relative phase between each shot in the multi-shot k-space data can be jointly estimated.

Abstract: According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a toner cartridge detachably mountable to a receiving device, the toner cartridge comprising a container including a accommodating portion for accommodating the toner and a discharge opening for discharging the toner from the accommodating portion into the receiving device; and an open/close member including a closing portion for closing the discharge opening and an engaging portion movable relative to the closing portion, the open/close member being rotatable relative to the container between (a) an opening position for causing the closing portion to open the discharge opening and (b) a closing position for causing the closing portion to close the discharge opening, wherein the engaging portion is movable relative to the closing portion between (c) a engaging position for engagement with the receiving device to receive a force for moving the open/close member from the opening position to the closing position when the toner cartridge is d

Abstract: A computer-implemented method for operating a magnetic resonance facility for recording a magnetic resonance data set may include, after the recording of all the reference data, before the establishment of the calibration data, an intensity adjustment of the reference data with respect to the different temporal position of time portions in which they were recorded is performed for the recording of the associated slice scan data. The intensity adjustment may include establishing a representative intensity value for each reference data set of a slice, forming an intensity progression for each time portion from the intensity values of the reference data sets recorded in the time portion, establishing a scaling of the intensity progressions relative to one another, and performing the intensity adjustment based on the scaling.

Abstract: Provided in the present invention are a magnetic resonance imaging system and method. The magnetic resonance imaging method comprises: performing m NEXs, wherein in each NEX, a plurality of fat suppression pulses are applied, each of the plurality of fat suppression pulses has thereafter m gradient recalled echo sequences, and each NEX acquires q groups of initial image data, where q=m*n, n is the number of fat suppression pulses applied in each NEX, n is greater than 1, and m is greater than 1; and reconstructing a magnetic resonance image on the basis of at least a portion of the initial image data acquired in the m NEXs.

Abstract: The disclosure relates to a magnetic resonance apparatus having a superconducting main magnet, a magnet cooler for the main magnet and a cooling apparatus for the magnet cooler and further components of the magnetic resonance apparatus that are to be cooled. The cooling apparatus has a cooling circuit with a coolant that can be conveyed via a pump for circulation, and the cooling circuit has a first partial circuit to which the magnet cooler is coupled for cooling, at least one second partial circuit for the further components and a common portion, and at least the second partial circuit has a flow rate setting apparatus for setting the coolant flow rate through the partial circuit and associated with the cooling apparatus is a control apparatus, which is configured for actuating the pump and/or the flow rate setting apparatus dependent upon an operating state information item of the magnetic resonance apparatus.

Abstract: A magnetic field sensor which can achieve sensitivities competitive with modern sensors while simultaneously maintaining a small size, low power consumption, simplicity of design, and low cost. The magnetic field sensor utilizes nonlinear precession dynamics of subatomic spins to attain parametric amplification of a magnetic field. A preliminary experimental implementation of the proposed concept establishes its feasibility and can already demonstrate significant benefits over existing approaches to sensing.

Abstract: A method for performing real-time magnetic resonance (MR) imaging on a subject is disclosed. A prep pulse sequence is applied to the subject to obtain a high-quality special subspace, and a direct linear mapping from k-space training data to subspace coordinates. A live pulse sequence is then applied to the subject. During the live pulse sequence, real-time images are constructed using a fast matrix multiplication procedure on a single instance of the k-space training readout (e.g., a single k-space line or trajectory), which can be acquired at a high temporal rate.

Abstract: A system for MRI is provided. The system may obtain a plurality of sets of under-sampled k-space data corresponding to a plurality of frames. Each set of under-sampled k-space data may be acquired simultaneously from a plurality of slice locations of a subject in one of the frames using an MRI scanner. The system may reconstruct a plurality of reference slice images based on the sets of under-sampled k-space data of the plurality of frames. Each of the reference slice images may be representative of one of the slice locations in more than one frame of the frames. The system may further reconstruct a plurality of image series based on the sets of under-sampled k-space data and the reference slice images. Each image series may correspond to one of the slice locations and include a plurality of slice images of the corresponding slice location in the plurality of frames.

Abstract: In MRI using an SE-based pulse sequence, an object is to suppress flow artifacts and acquire a flow artifact-free image regardless a velocity or a direction of blood flow. A pair of gradient magnetic field pulses are applied before and after a 180-degree pulse of the SE-based pulse sequence, and a plurality of times of imaging are performed using varying intensities of the pair of gradient magnetic field pulses. Image reconstruction is performed by performing a Fourier transformation on measurement data obtained through the plurality of times of imaging in an axial direction of the intensities of the gradient magnetic field pulses, that is, a velocity encoding direction. As a result, images can be separated for each velocity of a stationary tissue and a non-stationary component included in tissues, and an image of spins with a velocity of zero, that is, a flow artifact-free image of the stationary tissue, can be obtained.

Abstract: A non-localized efficiency shimming technique is used to generate radio frequency (RF) shimming values for imaging with a multi-channel transmit RF coil that minimizes subject-specific imperfections in the transmit magnetic field (B1+) and reduces or eliminates signal dropout in the acquired images, while keeping the coil working in an optimal mode with a high transmit efficiency. The non-localized efficiency shimming can be used for both small and large fields-of-view where a specific ROI does not need to be specified. The static non-localized efficiency shim is advantageous for turbo spin echo (TSE) imaging of smaller anatomical targets, whereas the dynamic non-localized efficiency shim is advantageous for larger fields-of-view, such as in human torsos.

Abstract: Capturing MR image data of an examination object using an MR apparatus, including: performing a balanced steady-state free precession sequence with phase progress of 180 degrees per repetition time using the MR apparatus; in the balanced steady-state free precession sequence, providing a white-marker gradient in order at least partially to balance a dephasing caused by a magnetic-field-changing object in the examination object; capturing image data of the examination object using the MR apparatus at an echo time; and adjusting a phase development between phase magnetization of a first and second materials, which form an interface in the examination object, in the balanced steady-state free precession sequence using the MR apparatus, wherein due to the adjusting of the phase development before an effect of the white-marker gradient, a co-phasal alignment of a magnetization of the first material and of the second material at the interface is effected at the echo time.

Abstract: A method for creating image data of an examination object using a magnetic resonance system, including: acquiring a first and at least a second set of measurement data at least of one slice, wherein during each acquisition of measurement data different acceleration factors and/or different field of view shift factors are used; and reconstructing image data based on the acquired sets of measurement data.

Abstract: For constructing an asymmetric RF pulse for an MRI system, a first RF amplitude for a first part of a time interval is determined and an RF amplitude curve, which depends on at least one RF curve parameter is received. A combined RF amplitude curve for the time interval is determined by combining the first RF amplitude for the first part of the time interval and the RF amplitude curve for a second part of the time interval, which succeeds the first part of the time interval. The combined RF amplitude curve is optimized using a loss function, which comprises an energy loss term, which depends on a pulse energy of the combined RF amplitude curve, and using the at least one RF curve parameter as at least one optimization variable. A combined amplitude of the asymmetric RF pulse is given by the optimized combined RF amplitude curve.