Patent ID: 7558615

Claim:
A method for interventional imaging of a vessel of interest, surrounded by stationary tissue, in a vessel system, by magnetic resonance tomography, comprising the steps of: (a) implementing a preparation selected from the group consisting of: (1) preparing a contrast agent liquid in a fluid reservoir by emitting an inversion pulse into the contrast agent liquid in the fluid reservoir that will cause the contrast agent liquid to generate a weak magnetic resonance signal compared to said stationary tissue in a magnetic resonance image of said vessel of interest with said contrast agent liquid therein and said stationary tissue, and (2) preparing the stationary tissue by emitting an inversion pulse into said stationary tissue that will cause said stationary tissue to generate a weak magnetic resonance signal compared to said contrast agent liquid in a magnetic resonance image of said vessel of interest with said contrast agent liquid therein and said stationary tissue; (b) injecting said contrast agent liquid into said vessel system at an injection point in time; (c) synchronizing said inversion pulse relative to said injection point in time by: (1) if preparation (a)(1) is selected, emitting said inversion pulse into said contrast agent liquid in said reservoir at a time relative to said injection point in time to give said contrast agent liquid a magnetization that has a zero crossing that occurs when said contrast agent liquid enters into said vessel of interest, and (2) if preparation (a)(2) is selected, emitting said inversion pulse into said stationary tissue at a time relative to said injection point in time to give said stationary tissue a magnetization that has a zero crossing that occurs when said contrast agent liquid enters into said vessel of interest; and (d) after step (b), acquiring magnetic resonance data from said vessel of interest and said stationary tissue and generating said magnetic resonance image from the acquired magnetic resonance data.