Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Korean Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (대한자기공명의과학회)
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Water-Fat Imaging with Automatic Field Inhomogeneity Correction Using Joint Phase Magnitude Density Function at Low Field MRI

저자장 자기공명영상에서 위상-크기 결합 밀도 함수를 이용한 자동 불균일 자장 보정 물-지방 영상 기법

  • Kim, Pan-Ki (Department af Electrical Engineering, Kwangwaan University) ;
  • Ahn, Chang-Beom (Department af Electrical Engineering, Kwangwaan University)
  • Received : 2010.11.22
  • Accepted : 2011.01.18
  • Published : 2011.04.30
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Abstract

Purpose : A new inhomogeneity correction method based on two-point Dixon sequence is proposed to obtain water and fat images at 0.35T, low field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system. Materials and Methods : Joint phase-magnitude density function (JPMF) is obtained from the in-phase and out-of-phase images by the two-point Dixon method. The range of the water signal is adjusted from the JPMF, and 3D inhomogeneity map is obtained from the phase of corresponding water volume. The 3D inhomogeneity map is used to correct the inhomogeneity field iteratively. Results : The proposed water-fat imaging method was successfully applied to various organs. The proposed 3D inhomogeneity correction algorithm provides good performances in overall multi-slice images. Conclusion : The proposed water-fat separation method using JPMF is robust to field inhomogeneity. Three dimensional inhomogeneity map and the iterative inhomogeneity correction algorithm improve water and fat imaging substantially.

목적 : 0.35 Teslas의 저자장 자기공명영상 시스템에서 인체 조직의 물 성분 또는 지방 성분의 영상을 얻는데 있어서 주자장의 불균일도를 two-point Dixon 방법을 기반으로 보정하는 새로운 방법을 모색하였다. 대상 및 방법 : Two-point Dixon 방법을 사용하여 물과 지방의 위상이 동상일 때와 역상일 때의 영상들을 얻은 후 그 영상들로부터 위상과 크기의 위상 크기 결합 밀도 함수를 계산하고, 이를 통해 물과 지방의 영역을 분리하여 3차원 볼륨의 물 영역에서의 주자장의 불균일도 패턴을 분석하고 이를 반복적으로 보정하여 주자장의 불균일도를 개선하였다. 결과 : 제안한 영상 기법으로 인체의 여러 부위에서 주자장의 불균일도를 보정한 물과 지방 영상을 얻을 수 있었다. 삼차원 보정을 통하여 멀티 슬라이스 전체 영상에서 균일하게 물 또는 지방만의 영상을 얻을 수 있었다. 결론 : 위상-크기 결합 밀도 함수를 통하여 물과 지방의 영역을 분리할 수 있었고, 이를 이용하여 자장의 불균일도를 분석하고 보정할 수 있었다. 제안한 방법을 통해 주자장의 불균일도가 월등히 개선된 물 또는 지방 영상을 얻을 수 있었다.

Keywords

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