Patent Document ID: 7852081
Application ID: 12039125
Patent Status: 1

Claim One:
1. A method for automatically determining respective positions in at least one spatial direction of magnetic resonance signal acquisition devices in a magnetic resonance tomography scanner, said magnetic resonance tomography scanner comprising only a number of acquisition channels, said method comprising the steps of: placing a plurality of magnetic resonance signal acquisition devices, respectively at substantially unchanging positions relative to each other, at a patient on a patient support table, each of said plurality of acquisition devices requiring connection to an acquisition channel, in said number of acquisition channels, for acquisition of a magnetic resonance signal therewith, said number of acquisition channels being less than said plurality of signal acquisition devices; moving said patient support table with said patient and said signal acquisition devices thereon through said magnetic resonance tomography scanner in a single pass-through said magnetic resonance tomography scanner; during said single pass of said patient support table through said magnetic resonance tomography scanner, automatically operating said scanner, from a control unit connected thereto, to make a first position measurement for a first subset of the plurality of acquisition devices using a first subset of said number of acquisition channels, and automatically operating said scanner from said control unit to make a second position measurement for a second subset, that is different from said first subset, of the plurality of acquisition devices using a second subset of said number of acquisition channels; and in a processor, automatically determining the respective positions of each acquisition device in each of said first and second subsets of acquisition devices from said first and second position measurements.