Patent ID: 8706191

Claim:
A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus having a table-top for resting a subject thereon, a table-top drive mechanism for moving the table-top in a lengthwise direction (z-axis direction), and a computer for controlling a movement rate of the table-top by providing a control signal to the table-top drive mechanism, so that a 2D real-time monitor image is produced during a continuous table-top movement 3D imaging process, the apparatus comprising: a table-top movement-rate control unit configured to control the table-top drive mechanism to move the table-top; a data collecting unit configured to collect raw 3D data in kx, ky, and kz space provided by a nuclear magnetic resonance signal while moving the table-top where x and y coordinate axes are orthogonal to said z-axis; a 2D-image acquiring unit configured to acquire a 2D monitor image based upon raw 2D data forming a part of the raw collected 3D data, concurrently with collection of the raw 3D data; and a display control unit configured to control display of the 2D monitor image, concurrently with ongoing collection of the raw 3D data; wherein the 2D-image acquiring unit has a 2D-data acquiring unit configured to extract raw 2D data, related to k-space y-axis position ky where ky is constant, out of the collected raw 3D data, a 2D-data rearranging unit configured (a) to Fourier-transform in a z-axis direction the extracted raw 2D data of the collected raw 3D data, (b) not to Fourier-transform remaining collected raw 3D data, and (c) to place the extracted raw 2D data transformed in the z-axis direction onto a kx-z hybrid space, and a 2D-image reconstructing unit configured to perform a one-dimensional Fourier transform on z-data completed in a kx direction on the placed extracted raw 2D-data to acquire a 2D monitor image for real space, thereby enhancing timeliness of the displayed monitor image by reducing the amount of data processing time required to produce the monitor image during concurrent acquisition of the raw 3D data.