PATENT CLAIM ANALYSIS

Application Number: 16120749
Application Type: Utility
Filing Date: 2018-09
Publication Date: 2019-03
Patent Classification: ["324", "309000"]

Abstract:
In a method and a magnetic resonance (MR) apparatus for diffusion-gradient MR imaging, vectors for the diffusion gradients are determined by generating a cuboid with edges that represent the maximum amplitudes that are achievable by the gradient system of the MR apparatus, and a spherical shell is also generated that represents limit values for effective gradient amplitudes. Areas of the spherical shell that are within the cuboid are used as end points of origin vectors that originate from the origin of the intersecting axes of the gradient system. Diffusion gradient vectors that are to be used for acquiring the diffusion-weighted MR data are then selected from these origin vectors dependent on fulfillment of a condition for producing a trace-weighted image with low artifacts.

Claim (Index 16):
A magnetic resonance (MR) apparatus for acquiring diffusion-weighted MR data with anisotropic diffusion directions from an examination region of a subject, so as to produce a trace-weighted image of said examination region from said diffusion-weighted MR data, said apparatus comprising:\n an MR scanner comprising a gradient system having a gradient coil arrangement defined by physical gradient axes that intersect each other at an origin; a computer configured to execute an algorithm that defines a space of diffusion-gradient vectors that are achievable by said gradient system, as a cuboid having edges oriented along said physical gradient axes, with an extent of said edges corresponding to a maximum gradient amplitude that is achievable by said gradient system along said physical gradient axes; said computer being configured to execute said algorithm so as to select a value interval for an effective gradient amplitude that defines a minimum value and a maximum value of said effective gradient amplitude; said computer being configured to execute said algorithm so as to establish a spherical shell around said origin, said spherical shell having an inner radius equal to said minimum value and an outer radius equal to said maximum value; said computer being configured to execute said algorithm so as to identify areas of said spherical shell that are within said cuboid, as end points of origin vectors that respective start at said origin; said computer being configured in said algorithm to select, from said set of origin vectors, a set of at least six diffusion-gradient vectors that fulfil conditions for producing said trace-weighted image with low image artifacts; said computer being configured to generate control signals that operate said gradient system so as to produce diffusion gradient fields defined by said at least six diffusion-gradient vectors; said computer being configured to operate said MR scanner with said control signals in order to acquire said diffusion-weighted MR data; and said computer being configured to reconstruct, from the acquired diffusion-weighted MR data, trace-weighted image data that represent said trace-weighted image with low image artifacts, and to make said trace-weighted image data available from said computer in electronic form as a data file.

Metadata:
- Claim Count in Document: 7.0
- Percentile: 97.0
- Lexical Diversity: 1.80556
- Patent Class: 324.0
- Transitional Phrase Type: open
- Component Type: 1
- Foreign Priority: True
- Related Applications: ['15589026', '12430546', '15994309', '15337578', '14398533']

Analysis Scores:
- 35 USC 101 Eligibility (BERT): 0.4793836278472354
- 35 USC 102 Novelty (BERT): 0.589868015792299
- Combined Prediction Score: 0.4904320666417418
- Mean Citation Score: 269.633892
- Max Citation Score: 494.2093
- Similarity Product: 465.3065730782389

Labels:
- Claim Label 101: 1
- Claim Label 102: 1
- Claim Label 103: 1
- Claim Label 112: 1
- Combined Label: 1
- Label 101 Adjusted: 1

Dataset: test