Patent ID: 7729741

Claim:
A method of multiregion contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging, the method comprising: positioning a subject with respect to a magnetic resonance imaging system so that magnetic resonance imaging data of a first region of interest may be obtained, wherein the first region of interest includes a first portion of the subject's arterial system; introducing contrast material into the subject's vasculature via one injection, thereby causing an arterial phase of the injected contrast material, which phase occurs in the first region of interest and later in a second region of interest; obtaining magnetic resonance imaging data from the first region of interest, wherein such obtaining is so timed relative to the introduction of contrast material that magnetic resonance imaging data representative of the center of k-space is obtained from the first region of interest during the arterial phase of the injected contrast material in the first region of interest; repositioning the subject with respect to the magnetic resonance imaging system so that magnetic resonance imaging data of the second region of interest may be obtained, wherein the second region of interest includes a second portion of the subject's arterial system that is arterially downstream of the first portion of the subject's arterial system; and obtaining magnetic resonance imaging data of the second region of interest, wherein such obtaining is so timed relative to (a) the introduction of contrast material or (b) the obtaining of magnetic resonance imaging data of the first region of interest, that magnetic resonance imaging data representative of the center of k-space is obtained from the second region of interest during the arterial phase of the injected contrast material in the second region of interest.