Patent Document ID: 9213074
Application ID: 12423303
Patent Status: 1

Claim One:
1. A method for producing a magnetic resonance (MR) image that depicts both bone and soft tissue, the steps of the method comprising: a) directing a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system to perform a pulse sequence a plurality of times, wherein each repetition of the pulse sequence includes: a) i) producing a non-selective radio frequency (RF) pulse; a) ii) acquiring during a first stage of the pulse sequence: an MR signal from a free-induction-decay having an ultra-short echo time using a radial k-space trajectory; and at least one MR signal from at least one echo occurring after the free-induction decay using a radial k-space trajectory; and a) iii) acquiring during a second stage of the pulse sequence that occurs after the first stage of the pulse sequence, a plurality of MR signals from echoes occurring after the at least one echo occurring in step a) ii); and b) producing an MR image that depicts both bone and soft tissue by: b) i) reconstructing an image that depicts substantially only bone from the MR signals acquired in the first stage of the pulse sequence; b) ii) reconstructing an image that depicts soft tissues from the plurality of MR signals acquired in second stage of the pulse sequence; and b) iii) combining the images reconstructed in steps b) i) and b) ii) to produce the MR image depicting both bone and soft tissue.