Patent ID: 7738943

Claim:
An MR imaging (MRI) apparatus comprising: an MRI system having a plurality of gradient coils positioned about a bore of a magnet to impress a polarizing magnetic field and an RF transceiver system and an RF switch controlled by a pulse module to transmit RF signals to an RF coil assembly to acquire MR images; and a computer programmed to: generate a first data set from a first physiologic signal generated via a first cardiac lead associated with a subject and from a second physiologic signal generated via a second cardiac lead associated with the subject and non-aligned with the first cardiac lead, wherein the first data set represents a first cardiac event; generate a second data set from the first and second physiologic signals, wherein the second data set represents a second cardiac event; generate a third data set from a pair of cardiac signals, wherein the pair of cardiac signals are generated via the first and second cardiac leads, and wherein the third data set represents a potential cardiac event of the subject; determine a first comparison value based on the first data set and the third data set; determine a second comparison value based on the second data set and the third data set; and trigger an image acquisition based on a lesser of the first and second comparison values.