Patent ID: 7511492

Claim:
An apparatus for obtaining magnetic resonance (MR) and radio frequency impedance mapping (RFIM) data, the apparatus comprising: a plurality of radio frequency (RF) coils capable of generating RF signals; an input controller capable of providing power to the plurality of RF coils to facilitate generating the RF signals, the input controller configured to power at least some of the plurality of RF coils to provide first RF signals and to power at least some of the plurality of coils to provide second RF signals adapted to obtain RFIM data; an output controller capable of obtaining measurements from the plurality of RF coils, the output controller configured to measure at least some of the RF coils to detect nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) signals emitted from a region in response to the first RF signals to form, at least in part, first magnetic resonance (MR) data, and to obtain at least one impedance measurement from the plurality of RF coils to form, at least in part, first RFIM data; and at least one computer coupled to the input controller and the output controller to receive data obtained from the plurality of RF coils, the at least one computer configured to compute a first RFIM map indicating the spatial distribution in the region of at least one dielectric property, the first RFIM map computed based, at least in part, on the first RFIM data and the first MR data; wherein the at least one computer is configured to compute an electromagnetic field map indicative of a spatial distribution over the region of at least one electromagnetic field component based, at least in part, on the first MR data, and wherein computing the first RFIM map includes computing the first RFIM map based, at least in part, on the electromagnetic field map; wherein the at least one computer is configured to use the electromagnetic field map to constrain reconstruction of the first RFIM map.