Patent ID: 7714576

Claim:
A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus arranged to acquire a signal representative of a response of an object to an excitation pulse when said object is positioned in an imaging volume of the magnetic resonance imaging apparatus, whereby said apparatus is further arranged to automatically select a receiver element for purposes of said acquisition, said apparatus comprising: a carrier arranged to position the object in the imaging volume; a plurality of receiver elements arranged to cover respective regions on the object, said receiver elements having established respective dimensions and locations in the magnetic resonance imaging apparatus, whereby the magnetic resonance imaging apparatus further comprises: an imaging indicator arranged to define a position of a reference point for the object on the carrier, said reference point being indicative of a region of interest; an imaging localizer arranged to determine a position and a dimension of the region of interest with respect to the reference point; a control unit arranged to establish a further position and a further dimension of the region of interest on the carrier from the position of the reference point and said position and dimension of the region of interest and to select a receiver element from said plurality of receiver elements based on the further position and the further dimension of the region of interest and the respective dimensions and locations of the receiver elements in the magnetic resonance imaging apparatus.