Patent ID: 8446149

Claim:
A system for parallel image processing in MR imaging, comprising: a plurality of MR imaging RF coils for individually receiving MR imaging data representing a slice of patient anatomy; an MR imaging system for using the plurality of RF coils for acquiring a corresponding plurality of image data sets of said slice; a coil selection processor for determining a prioritized ranking of said plurality of RF coils by, ranking individual coils of said plurality of RF coils based on correlation with remaining coils of said plurality of RF coils, said correlation being determined by determining degree of correlation of image data sets acquired by RF coil pairs comprising individual coils of said plurality of RF coils paired with individual remaining coils of said plurality of RF coils and selecting a subset of said plurality of RF coils using the ranking; and an image generator for generating a composite MR image using image data sets provided by the selected subset of said plurality of RF coils excluding image data sets provide by remaining coils of said plurality of RF coils.