Patent ID: 8583212

Claim:
An MRI apparatus configured to image a subject such that arterial blood flowing from an upstream region to a downstream region through an imaging region of the subject is emphasized in image data over venous blood flowing in an opposing direction through the imaging region, said MRI apparatus comprising: a static magnetic field generating device configured to generate a static magnetic field to the subject in order to assign positive values to each of a longitudinal magnetization component of the arterial blood and a longitudinal magnetization component of the venous blood; a transmission coil configured to transmit an RF pulse to the subject; a first transmission coil control device configured to cause said transmission coil to transmit a first inversion pulse for inverting the longitudinal magnetization component of each of the arterial blood and the venous blood to negative values from the positive values; a second transmission coil control device configured to cause said transmission coil to transmit a second inversion pulse for inverting the longitudinal magnetization component of the venous blood to the positive value from the negative value inverted by the first inversion pulse; a third transmission coil control device configured to cause said transmission coil to transmit a third inversion pulse for inverting the longitudinal magnetization component of the venous blood to the negative value from the positive value inverted by the second inversion pulse; a fourth transmission coil control device configured to cause said transmission coil to transmit an excitation pulse for acquiring said image data from said imaging region; a first inversion pulse transmission control device configured to control the transmission of the second inversion pulse at a time point when a first wait time has elapsed after transmitting the first inversion pulse; a second inversion pulse transmission control device configured to control the transmission of the third inversion pulse at a time point when a second wait time has elapsed after transmitting the second inversion pulse; and a third inversion pulse transmission control device configured to control the transmission of the excitation pulse at a time point when a third wait time has elapsed after transmitting the third inversion pulse, wherein said third inversion pulse transmission control device is configured to determine the third wait time such that the excitation pulse is transmitted while an absolute value of the longitudinal magnetization component of the arterial blood is greater than an absolute value of the longitudinal magnetization component of the venous blood; wherein the second inversion pulse is a selective RF inversion pulse that selects the imaging region and the downstream region.