Patent ID: 7218109

Claim:
A method for operating a magnetic resonance apparatus to generate a magnetic resonance image of an examination subject, said magnetic resonance apparatus comprising a plurality of radio frequency coils available for use in acquiring magnetic resonance data from the examination subject, said plurality of coils being located at respective locations in the magnetic resonance apparatus relative to the examination subject, said method comprising the steps of: emitting a radio frequency signal and acquiring spatially-resolved data, representing a signal intensity distribution, using at least some of said available coils; in a computer, automatically determining a three-dimensional exposure profile as a time-resolved signal intensity distribution for each of said some of said coils based on the spatially-resolved data acquired therefrom; and dependent on said exposure profiles and dependent on a measurement region of the examination subject from which magnetic resonance imaging data are to be acquired, selecting at least one of said some of said coils for acquiring said magnetic resonance image data from said measurement region.