Patent ID: 10147314

Abstract:
Example apparatus and methods provide improved spatial and temporal resolution over conventional magnetic resonance renography (MRR). Example apparatus and methods reconstruct under-sampled three-dimensional (3D) data associated with nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) signals acquired from a kidney. The data is reconstructed using a 3D through-time non-Cartesian generalized auto-calibrating partially parallel acquisitions (GRAPPA) approach. Example apparatus and methods produce a quantized value for a contrast agent concentration in the kidney from a signal intensity in the data based, at least in part, on a two compartment model of the kidney. The two compartment model includes a plasma compartment and a tubular compartment. The quantized value describes a perfusion parameter for the kidney or a filtration parameter for the kidney. Greater precision is achieved for estimates of the perfusion parameter or filtration parameter as a result of the quantization performed on data acquired with greater spatial resolution and temporal resolution.