Patent ID: 7514923

Claim:
A method for defining and displaying a localized excitation volume within at least one imaging slab within a localizer image configured for MRI imaging of an anatomical object, comprising: displaying localizer images on a display of an MRI imaging system, the localizer images showing axial, coronal and sagittal planes of sectioned views of the anatomical object; by way of an operator using a graphical user interface of the MRI imaging system, choosing a region of interest within the localizer images displayed upon a the display, the region of interest being chosen to encompass at least a portion of the anatomical object; by way of an operator using the graphical user interface, using the localizer images to prescribe at least one imaging slab bisecting the region of interest; on the MRI imaging system, calculating a localized excitation volume defined by the intersection of the at least one imaging slab and the region of interest; and by way of the MRI imaging system utilizing one of stimulated echo acquisition mode (STEAM), point-resolved spectroscopy (PRESS), or slice-selective 2-D spatial pulse excitation, magnetically exciting only the localized excitation volume, and not portions of the region of interest within the at least one imaging slab but external to the localized excitation volume, thereby reducing image artifacts otherwise displayed via image excitation of a volume of the region of interest outside of the localized excitation volume, resulting in improved MRI images with reduced image artifacts and more accurate patient diagnoses, and displaying the improved MRI images on the display.