Abstract: A moulded fibrous end plug (3) and dispenser system comprising the same, the end plug for use in mounting a roll of sheet material to a dispenser and having a roll facing side comprising formations configured to be insertable into an opening in an end of a roll of sheet material and for securing the end plug to the roll of sheet material, the end plug further comprising an opposite dispenser facing side comprising formations configured to cooperate with formations of a roll holder portion of a dispenser in use for mounting the end plug to the dispenser. The formations of the roll facing side configured to be insertable into the opening in the end of the roll of sheet material include a plurality of domes (7). The formations of the roll facing side for securing the end plug to the roll of sheet material include protuberances (26) configured to provide an interference fit securing the end plug to the roll.

Abstract: Product made using a mass that includes natural polymers, wherein the product has at least a first product part connected by a hinge construction to a second product part, wherein the hinge construction has at least one flexible sheet element and at least one bridge portion made of the mass that includes natural polymers, wherein the hinge construction is designed such that, prior to a first time hinging, the at least one bridge portion forms a more rigid connection between the first and second product parts than the flexible sheet element and by hinging the bridge portion is severed, such that the first and second parts are substantially only connected by the at least one flexible sheet element.

Abstract: Product made using a mass comprising natural polymers, wherein the product comprises at least a first and a second product part, connected by a hinge construction, wherein the hinge construction comprises at least one flexible sheet element and one bridge portion made of said mass comprising natural polymers, wherein the hinge construction is designed such that, prior to a first time hinging, the at least one bridge portion forms a more rigid connection between the first and second product part than the flexible sheet element and by hinging said bridge portion is severed, such that the first and second part are substantially only connected by the or each flexible strip.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method of characterizing the RF transmit chain of a magnetic resonance imaging scanner (1) using a local transmit/receive coil system (204; 210), comprising a first local NMR probe and a first local magnetic resonance coil, the first NMR probe being spatially located in immediate neighborhood to the first coil, a local receive coil system (206; 208), comprising a second local NMR probe and a second local magnetic resonance coil, the second NMR probe being spatially located in immediate neighborhood to the second coil, wherein the transmit chain comprises an external MR coil (9; 11; 12; 13), the method comprising: determining with the first magnetic resonance coil, a first MR signal phase evolution of the local RF transmit field generated by MR excitation of the first probe using the first magnetic resonance coil by measuring the RF response of the first probe upon said excitation, determining with the second magnetic resonance coil a second MR signal phase evolution of the local RF

Abstract: The invention relates to a method of characterizing the RF transmit chain of a magnetic resonance imaging scanner (1) using a local transmit/receive coil system (204; 210), comprising a first local NMR probe and a first local magnetic resonance coil, the first NMR probe being spatially located in immediate neighborhood to the first coil, a local receive coil system (206; 208), comprising a second local NMR probe and a second local magnetic resonance coil, the second NMR probe being spatially located in immediate neighborhood to the second coil, wherein the transmit chain comprises an external MR coil (9; 11; 12; 13), the method comprising: determining with the first magnetic resonance coil, a first MR signal phase evolution of the local RF transmit field generated by MR excitation of the first probe using the first magnetic resonance coil by measuring the RF response of the first probe upon said excitation, determining with the second magnetic resonance coil a second MR signal phase evolution of the local RF

Abstract: A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus includes a plurality of radio frequency coils (34) that acquire variable density sensitivity encoded data that is undersampled at least away from the center of k-space. A reconstruction processor (52) for each coil reconstructs: a regularization image reconstructed from a higher density portion of the variable density sensitivity encoded data disposed at or near a center of k-space acquired by that coil; and a folded image reconstructed from the variable density sensitivity encoded data acquired by that coil. An unfolding processor (66) unfolds the folded images. The unfolding is regularized by the regularization images.

Abstract: A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus includes a plurality of radio frequency coils (34) that acquire variable density sensitivity encoded data that is undersampled at least away from the center of k-space. A reconstruction processor (52) for each coil reconstructs: a regularization image reconstructed from a higher density portion of the variable density sensitivity encoded data disposed at or near a center of k-space acquired by that coil; and a folded image reconstructed from the variable density sensitivity encoded data acquired by that coil. An unfolding processor (66) unfolds the folded images. The unfolding is regularized by the regularization images.

Abstract: A magnetic resonance imaging system comprises a receiver system to acquire magnetic resonance signals. A control system controls the receiver system to reform an acquisition sequence to acquire the magnetic resonance signals in several acquisition segments. Respective groups of acquisition segments involve acquisition of magnetic resonance signals in different RF-receiver frequency bands. In the respective groups of acquisition segments, magnetic resonance signals are acquired from different nuclei having different gyromagnetic ratios. According to the invention, reconstruction of different types of information carried by the respective nuclei is made possible. For example, imaging of the anatomy of a patient to be examined is performed on the basis of proton magnetic resonance imaging. Imaging of a targeted contrast agent is achieved on the basis of 19F magnetic resonance imaging. Localisation of a invasive device, such as a catheter, is also performed on the basis of e.g. 19F magnetic resonance imaging.

Abstract: A diagnostic imaging system (1), in particular a magnetic resonance imaging system. The diagnostic imaging system comprises control system (2) to control the execution of operational items by the diagnostic imaging system. A user interface (3) is coupled to the control system, the user interface including a scheduler module which forms an ordered selection of operational items. The operational items are executed on the basis of the ordered selection. The ordered selection concerns the order, timing and conditions to be fulfilled to execute the operational items. Notably, in an magnetic resonance imaging system the actual acquisition concerns the execution of acquisition pulse sequences to receive magnetic resonance signals which is carried out for the planned geometry, the preferred embodiment comprises a patient support that can be moved among various positions which is used in a multi-station examination.

Abstract: The invention relates to a system and method for magnetic resonance imaging. In order to achieve high resolution imaging a magnetic resonance imaging system and method is proposed, wherein magnetic resonance signals using a first resonance frequency are used for a central portion of k-space and magnetic resonance signals using a second resonance frequency are used for a peripheral portion of k-space. In a preferred embodiment of the invention non-proton magnetic resonance signals are used for the central portion of the k-space and proton magnetic resonance signals are used for the periphery of k-space. Accordingly, the reconstructed magnetic resonance image shows contrast relating to the non-proton nuclei and fine resolution dominated by the protons. Hence, the invention can especially provide a solution for the limited time available for the acquisition of non-proton magnetic resonance signals.

Abstract: A subject on a pallet (22) undergoes a surgical procedure in the vicinity of an MR scanner using non-MRI compatible instruments (40) from a tray (42). The procedure may, for example, insert a catheter which is MRI compatible. After the procedure, the pallet (22) is transferred by a transfer gurney (26?) or a drive (122) and moved across a 5 Gauss line (32) and into an imaging region (30) of an MRI scanner (12). To be sure that none of the non-MRI compatible instruments crosses the 5 Gauss line (32), a circuit (50) senses whether all of the instruments have been repositioned at their preselected locations in the tray (42).

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method of perfusion imaging comprising: performing a first magnetic resonance data acquisition (A) at a first sensitivity (b) value, performing a set of at least six second magnetic resonance data acquisitions (B1, B2, . . . B6) with gradiant encodings in different directions at second sensitivity (b) values, determining a perfusion tensor based on the magnetic resonance data acquisitions, performing a perfusion tensor visualitation step.

Abstract: A method of deriving a directional structure from an object dataset is proposed. The object dataset assigns local directions to positions in a multidimensional geometrical space. For example the local directions concern local flow directions in a diffusion tensor magnetic resonance image at least one ‘region of interest’ is selected on the basis of spatial functional information, such as an fMRI image, time correlation of an fMRI image series with a functional paradigm or an anatomical image. These ‘region of interest’ are employed to initialize a fibre tracking to derive the directional structure that represents the nervous fibre system.

Abstract: A system is described for the acquisition of a magnetic resonance scan of a subject. The system is particularly useful when the subject which contains a volume of interest which is larger than the field of view of the system and when the scan includes a time dependent signal. The system also comprising a subject support capable of movement relative to the field of view. The system presented is arranged to perform at least a first scan and a second scan, the first scan being arranged so that signal is acquired from the central region of k-space as the subject support is moved through the field of view in a first direction and the second scan being arranged so that signal is acquired from the periphery of k-space as the subject support is moved through the field of view in a second direction.

Abstract: A novel magnetic resonance imaging method is described, for forming an image of an object from a plurality of signals sampled in a restricted homogeneity region of a main magnet field of a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus. A patient disposed on a table is moved continuously through the bore of the main magnet and spins in a predetermined area of the patient are excited by an excitation pulse from a transmitter antenna, such that an image is formed over a region exceeding largely the restricted region. Data is undersampled in the restricted region by means off at least one receiver antenna in a plurality of receive situations being defined as a block of measurements contiguous in time having preserved magnetisation and presaturation conditions within the excited area of the patient. Fold-over artefacts due to said undersampling are unfolded by means of the known sensitivity pattern of the receiver antenna and/or the properties of selected factors determining said receive situations.

Abstract: The degree of sub-sampling in magnetic resonance imaging is such that the ensuing acquisition time for receiving (echo) series of magnetic resonance signals due to an individual RF excitation is shorter than the decay time of such magnetic resonance signals. Preferably, a segmented scan of the k space is performed, the number of segments and the number of lines scanned in each segment being adjustable and a predetermined total number of lines being scanned. Preferably, a small number of segments is used such that the acquisition time for receiving the magnetic resonance signals for the complete magnetic resonance image is shorter than the process time of the dynamic process involved.

Abstract: A novel magnetic resonance imaging method is presented for forming an image of an object from a plurality of signals acquired by an array of multiple receiver antennae. Prior to imaging a sensitivity map of each of the receiver antennae is provided, at least two adjacent antennae record signals originating from the same imaging position and the image intensity is calculated from the signals measured by different antennae, wherein the number of phase encoding steps is reduced with respect to the full set thereof. In addition the field of view is set smaller than the object size in phase encoding direction inducing intrinsic foldover artefacts, whereas the sensitivity map of the receiver antennae and a reference image featuring intrinsic foldover artefacts are used for reconstruction of the MR image to an unfolded image.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method for interleaved k-space data acquisition for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the k-spaces having a first coordinate axis and a second coordinate axis, the method comprising: a) sampling into a first direction along the first coordinate axis, b) applying a first compensation pulse, c) sampling into a second direction along the first coordinate axis, the second direction being opposite to the first direction, applying a second compensation pulse, d) repetitively carrying out the steps a) to d).

Abstract: The present invention relates to a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus comprising an RF coil system comprising M RF coils (11-18) for detecting RF signals from a region of interest, M being an integer larger than 2, and N receiver channels (C1-C4) for receiving and processing the detected RF signals, N being an integer larger than 1 and smaller than M. According to the invention at least two RF coils (12, 16; 14, 18) are combined for reception of RF signals of said RF coils with a single receiver channel, wherein said at least two RF coils are selected so as to provide maximum spatially varying coil sensitivities along the principal axis for coil sensitivity encoding. The proposed MRI apparatus provides an optimal solution enabling it to be used with the SENSE method. The general idea is to have as much individuality as possible along the preferred or actual sense reduction direction and to feature as much spatial distinctness as possible along the axes of primary clinical interest.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of at least a portion of a body placed in a stationary and substantially homogeneous main magnetic field. The method comprises the steps of subjecting the body to a diffusion-weighting sequence (DW1), generating a train of M echoes (E1, E2, E3, E4, E5) by an imaging sequence (EPI1), and measuring this train of MR echoes. These steps are repeated until a complete imaging data set with a sufficient number of phase-encoding steps is measured. Thereafter, the imaging data set is corrected for macroscopic motions by means of an individual phase-correction of each train of MR echoes. Finally, an image is reconstructed from the imaging data.