Patent ID: 6943549

Claim:
A method for processing magnetic resonance imaging image information wherein a magnetic resonance spectral intensity value is measured at each of a plurality of measuring points that are arranged at predetermined intervals along a lengthwise direction, a crosswise direction and a height direction on a bone structure to be measured, comprising obtaining magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) image information as a set of the magnetic resonance spectral intensity values measured at each of the plurality of measuring points that are arranged at predetermined intervals along a lengthwise direction, a crosswise direction and a height direction on said bone structure by using two kinds of spectral intensity measuring methods respectively with respect to the bone structure to be measured, the spectral intensity measuring methods comprising: a magnetic longitudinal relaxation (T 1 ) measurement and a magnetic transverse relaxation (T 2 ) measurement; three-dimensionally aligning the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) image information obtained by the magnetic longitudinal relaxation (T 1 ) measurement with the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) image information obtained by the magnetic transverse relaxation (T 2 ) measurement and obtaining by interpolation another set of spectral intensity values of the magnetic resonance imaging image information for both the magnetic longitudinal relaxation (T 1 ) measurement and the magnetic resonance imaging image information by the magnetic transverse relaxation (T 2 ) measurement, at the same points as the plurality of measuring points used for said predetermined intervals along a lengthwise direction, a crosswise direction and a height direction on said bone structure, and deriving information showing the bone structure as new MRI image information by performing a linear calculation between the set of spectral intensity values obtained by the magnetic longitudinal relaxation (T 1 ) measurements and the set of spectral intensity values obtained by the magnetic transverse relaxation (T 2 ) measurements at each of the plurality of measuring points that are arranged at said predetermined intervals along a lengthwise direction, a crosswise direction and a height direction on said bone structure.