Method for generating a magnetic resonance image

1 . A computer implemented method for generating a modified magnetic resonance image, the method comprising:

receiving k-space data corresponding to a magnetic resonance scanner signal, wherein the k-space data is divided into a plurality of k-space segments, wherein the k-space data corresponds to at least two separate k-space acquisitions from a magnetic resonance scanner, and wherein the receiving of the k-space data further comprises: removing, from the k-space data, a central k-space segment of a first k-space acquisition of the at least two separate k-space acquisitions; and retaining, in the k-space data, a central k-space segment of a second k-space acquisition of the at least two separate k-space acquisitions;

generating a plurality of reconstructed magnetic resonance images from the received k-space data, wherein, for each reconstructed magnetic resonance image of the plurality of reconstructed magnetic resonance images, a subspace of the k-space data is generated by removing a k-space segment from the k-space data to provide a remaining subspace of the k-space data and the remaining subspace is used in the generating of the respective reconstructed magnetic resonance image;

determining, for each reconstructed magnetic resonance image of the plurality of reconstructed magnetic resonance images, an image sharpness corresponding to the respective subspace of the k-space data within the respective reconstructed magnetic resonance image;

selecting a subspace of the k-space data corresponding to a highest determined image sharpness; and

generating the modified magnetic resonance image based on the selected subspace of the k-space data.

2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

repeating the receiving, the determining, and the selecting,

wherein the repeated receiving of the k-space data comprises removing the central k-space segment from the second k-space acquisition of the at least two separate k-space acquisitions and retaining the central k-space segment in the first k-space acquisition of the at least two separate k-space acquisitions.

3 . The method of claim 2 , further comprising:

comparing: (1) an image sharpness corresponding to a subspace of the k-space data selected via performing the receiving, the determining, and the selecting with the central k-space segment removed from the first k-space acquisition of the at least two separate k-space acquisitions, with (2) an image sharpness corresponding to a subspace of the k-space data selected via performing the receiving, the determining, and the selecting with the central k-space segment removed from the second k-space acquisition of the at least two separate k-space acquisitions; and

generating the modified magnetic resonance image based on the subspace of the k-space data with a higher image sharpness in the comparing.

4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the generating of the modified magnetic resonance image comprises averaging: (1) the k-space data resulting from performing the receiving, the determining, and the selecting with the central k-space segment removed from the first k-space acquisition of the at least two separate k-space acquisitions with (2) the k-space data resulting from performing the receiving, the determining, and the selecting with the central k-space segment removed from the second k-space acquisition of the at least two separate k-space acquisitions.

5 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the generating of the modified magnetic resonance image comprises co-registering: (1) the k-space data resulting from performing the receiving, the determining, and the selecting with the central k-space segment removed from the first k-space acquisition of the at least two separate k-space acquisitions with (2) the k-space data resulting from performing the receiving, the determining, and the selecting with the central k-space segment removed from the second k-space acquisition of the at least two separate k-space acquisitions.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein a total number of k-space segments in the plurality of k-space segments is determined by a magnetic resonance scanner.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein a topology of the plurality of k-space segments is cartesian, radial, or spiral.

8 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

iteratively repeating the receiving, the determining, and the selecting, wherein the received k-space data of a current iteration is the selected subspace of the k-space data from a previous iteration, and

wherein the generating of the modified magnetic resonance image is based on the selected subspace of k-space from a final performed iteration.

9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the final performed iteration is an iteration in which a difference between a highest determined image sharpness from the current iteration and a highest determined image sharpness from the previous iteration is less than a predetermined threshold.

10 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the final performed iteration is an iteration in which a remaining number of k-space segments of the plurality of k-space segments is above a predetermined minimum sampling density.

11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the k-space data corresponds to at least two separate k-space acquisitions from a magnetic resonance scanner.

12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the generating of the modified magnetic resonance image comprises averaging the k-space data across the at least two separate k-space acquisitions.

13 . A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus comprising:

a magnetic resonance (MR) scanner; and

a computer for receiving a MR signal from the MR scanner,

wherein the computer is configured to:

receive k-space data corresponding to the MR signal, wherein the k-space data is divided into a plurality of k-space segments, wherein the k-space data corresponds to at least two separate k-space acquisitions from a magnetic resonance scanner, and wherein the receiving of the k-space data further comprises: removing, from the k-space data, a central k-space segment of a first k-space acquisition of the at least two separate k-space acquisitions; and retaining, in the k-space data, a central k-space segment of a second k-space acquisition of the at least two separate k-space acquisitions;

generate a plurality of reconstructed magnetic resonance images from the received k-space data, wherein, for each reconstructed magnetic resonance image of the plurality of reconstructed magnetic resonance images, a subspace of the k-space data is generated by removing a k-space segment from the k-space data to provide a remaining subspace of the k-space data and the remaining subspace is used in the generating of the respective reconstructed magnetic resonance image;

determine, for each reconstructed magnetic resonance image of the plurality of reconstructed magnetic resonance images, an image sharpness corresponding to the respective subspace of the k-space data within the respective reconstructed magnetic resonance;

select a subspace of the k-space data corresponding to a highest determined image sharpness; and

generate a modified MR image based on the selected subspace of the k-space data.