Patent ID: 11860258
Assignee: UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA PATENT FOUNDATION
Field: Measurement (Instruments)
Classification: CPC G | IPC G

Claim 4:
5. A computing device, comprising memory comprising programmed instructions stored thereon and one or more processors configured to execute the stored programmed instructions to:
generate a radio frequency (RF) excitation pulse to produce transverse magnetization that generates a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) signal and a series of RF refocusing pulses to produce a corresponding series of NMR spin-echo signals;
modify an original encoding gradient waveform comprising a non-rectilinear encoding trajectory by:
introducing at least one zero zeroth-moment waveform segment at one or both ends of the original encoding gradient waveform, wherein the original encoding gradient waveform comprises a trapezoidal gradient segment that is not concurrent with data sampling and is at one of the ends prior to the introduction of the at least one zero zeroth-moment waveform segment; and
increasing or decreasing the length of the trapezoidal gradient segment, while concurrently decreasing or increasing its amplitude, respectively, to increase or decrease a Maxwell integral of the original encoding gradient waveform;

generate during an interval adjacent to each of the series of RF refocusing pulses a first gradient pulse, wherein at least one of the first gradient pulses is generated according to the modified gradient waveform and the first gradient pulses encode the NMR spin-echo signals; and
construct an image from generated digitized samples of the NMR spin-echo signals obtained based on the encoding.