Patent ID: 8648598
Filing Date: 2014-02-11
Classification: G01R

Abstract:
1. A method, comprising: producing calibration data for a multi-channel transmitter associated with a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) apparatus; and controlling the MRI apparatus to transmit radio frequency (RF) energy associated with acquiring a magnetic resonance (MR) image of a patient according to the calibration data, where the SAR of a portion of the patient is affected by a conducting material associated with the patient and where the RF energy will induce an amount of SAR near the conducting material associated with the patient less than a desired threshold amount, controlling the MRI apparatus to transmit the RF energy through the multi-channel transmitter according to an excitation pattern, where the MRI apparatus is configured to acquire an MR image of a portion of the patient as a function of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) signal emitted by the patient in response to the excitation pattern, and where the interaction between the RF energy and the conducting material is a function of E-fields produced by the transmission of the RF energy, where the E-fields induce a potential in the conductor as described by: where the integral is taken over the path (x) of the conducting material, and where E represents the E-fields, and where applying the RF energy according to the excitation pattern leads to the integral being below a desired amount.