Abstract: Advanced processing techniques can be used to enhance the robustness, efficiency and quality of several parallel imaging techniques, such as SMASH, SENSE and subencoding. Specifically, a magnetic resonance image is formed by measuring RF signals in an array of RF coils, forming a set of spatial harmonics and tailoring the set of spatial harmonics to form a set of tailored spatial harmonics that are adjusted for variations in at least one of angulation of an image plane, field of view, and coil sensitivity calibration. The harmonics may be tailored by selecting automatically a subset of the set of formed spatial harmonics, adjusting the set of spatial harmonics by a function not equal to 1, to adjust for sensitivity variations along a phase encode direction, and/or performing separate spatial harmonic fits of the coil sensitivities at different spatial positions to the set of tailored spatial harmonics.

Abstract: Advanced processing techniques can be used to enhance the robustness, efficiency, and quality of several parallel imaging techniques, such as SMASH, SENSE and subencoding. Specifically, a magnetic resonance image is formed by measuring RF signals in an array of RF coils, and tailoring a set of spatial harmonic functions to form a set of tailored spatial harmonics that are adjusted for variations in at least one of angulation of an image plane, field of view, and coil sensitivity calibration. The harmonics may be tailored by selecting automatically a subset of the set of spatial harmonic functions, adjusting the set of spatial harmonic functions by a function not equal to 1, to adjust for sensitivity variations along a phase encode direction, and/or performing separate spatial harmonic fits of the coil sensitivities at different spatial positions to the set of tailored spatial harmonics.

Abstract: Advanced processing techniques can be used to enhance the robustness, efficiency, and quality of several parallel imaging techniques, such as SMASH, SENSE and subencoding. Specifically, a magnetic resonance image is formed by measuring RF signals in an array of RF coils, forming a set of spatial harmonics and tailoring the set of spatial harmonics to form a set of tailored spatial harmonics that are adjusted for variations in at least one of angulation of an image plane, field of view, and coil sensitivity calibration. The harmonics may be tailored by selecting automatically a subset of the set of formed spatial harmonics, adjusting the set of spatial harmonics by a function not equal to 1, to adjust for sensitivity variations along a phase encode direction, and/or performing separate spatial harmonic fits of the coil sensitivities at different spatial positions to the set of tailored spatial harmonics.

Abstract: A magnetic resonance (MR) imaging apparatus and technique exploits spatial information inherent in a surface coil array to increase MR image acquisition speed, resolution and/or field of view. Magnetic resonance response signals are acquired simultaneously in the component coils of the array and, using an autocalibration procedure, are formed into two or more signals to fill a corresponding number of lines in the signal measurement data matrix. In a Fourier embodiment, lines of the k-space matrix required for image production are formed using a set of separate, preferably linear combinations of the component coil signals to substitute for spatial modulations normally produced by phase encoding gradients. One or a few additional gradients are applied to acquire autocalibration (ACS) signals extending elsewhere in the data space, and the measured signals are fitted to the ACS signals to develop weights or coefficients for filling additional lines of the matrix from each measurement set.