Patent ID: 6710686
Filing Date: 2004-03-23
Classification: G01R

Abstract:
A method for rapidly acquiring a magnetic resonance image comprising the steps of:providing a radio frequency antenna array composed of a plurality of individual antennas, each of said antennas having a sensitivity, and exciting nuclear spins in an imaging region with said antenna array, and receiving respective resulting magnetic resonance signals simultaneously from said imaging region with said antennas; conditioning said respective magnetic resonance signals with gradient magnetic fields that define a spatial frequency space having a projection center, and occupying said spatial frequency space with the respective magnetic resonance signals received by said antennas along respective radially directed trajectories proceeding through said projection center in said spatial frequency space; arranging said antennas in said radio frequency antenna array relative to said projection center, prior to exciting said nuclear spins, at respective positions so that each antenna, dependent on said sensitivity, receives respective magnetic resonance signals which occupy a plurality of said trajectories only sufficient to represent an image of a sub-region of said region, with said antennas being respectively allocated to difference sub-regions that collectively substantially form said imaging region; and transforming the respective magnetic resonance signals from said antennas, dependent on the respective positions of said antennas, to form a magnetic resonance image of said imaging region.