Patent ID: 9726739
Date: 2017-08-08
CPC Classifications: G01R

Claim:
1. A method to optimize a pulse sequence for operating a magnetic resonance data acquisition scanner in order to acquire magnetic resonance data comprising: providing an unoptimized pulse sequence as an input to a processor, said unoptimized pulse sequence including at least one refocusing pulse, a readout gradient pulse that occurs in said sequence temporally after the refocusing pulse, and at least one readout spoiler pulse, and said unoptimized pulse sequence, when used to operate said magnetic resonance data acquisition scanner, causing said scanner to execute a scan, having a scan duration and an associated scanner noise level, in order to acquire said magnetic resonance data with a data resolution; in said processor, automatically shortening a pulse duration of said readout gradient pulse while keeping a readout gradient moment constant; in said processor, adapting a pulse shape of the readout spoiler pulse, without changing a total spoiler moment, so as to produce an optimally shortened pulse duration of the readout spoiler pulse that occurs when, by adapting the pulse shape of the readout spoiler pulse, a maximum amplitude of the readout spoiler pulse equals the amplitude of the readout gradient pulse and an edge steepness of the readout spoiler pulse is minimized; transforming said unoptimized pulse sequence into an optimized pulse sequence comprising the readout spoiler pulse having said optimally short duration and adapted pulse shape, and said readout gradient pulse with the adapted pulse duration, and making the optimized pulse sequence available at an output of the processor in electronic form in a format configured to use said optimized pulse sequence to operate said magnetic resonance system; and from said processor, operating said magnetic resonance data acquisition scanner to execute a scan with said optimized pulse sequence with a lower noise level than, and the same scan duration and data resolution as in, the scan executed with said unoptimized pulse sequence.