Patent ID: 8378682

Claim:
A Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Apparatus that comprises (a) A magnet that produces a magnetic field in a selected volume space in a target object whose three-dimensional (3D) tomographic image is desired, (b) at least one radio frequency (RF) pulse generator capable of producing an RF pulse to excite spinning atomic nuclei in said selected volume space in said target object, and (c) a plurality of RF sensitivity coils (RFSCs) that can measure RF radiation field intensity at a non-degenerate set of points in a 3D measurement volume space in the vicinity of said target object, wherein said 3D measurement volume space may extend substantially along at least one radial direction pointing away from an approximate center point of said target object so that RF radiation field measurements can be made at a plurality of different radial distances from said target object in addition to different angular directions with respect to said target object.