Framewise multi-echo distortion correction for superior MRI

1 . A computer system for providing functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) distortion correction, the computer system including at least one processor in communication with at least one memory device, the at least one processor programmed to:

receive multi-echo functional MRI (ME-fMRI) data obtained from one or more MRI scanners configured to perform at least one magnetic resonance acquisition, the ME-fMRI data including phase information and time information associated with the at least one magnetic resonance acquisition;

measure at least one difference between two or more echoes of a plurality of echoes associated with the at least one magnetic resonance acquisition;

sample distortion across a plurality of image frames included in the ME-fMRI data, the distortion being a result of fluctuating magnetic field inhomogeneities associated with the two or more echoes;

estimate, based on the sampled distortion, a frame-by-frame magnetic field inhomogeneity for each of the plurality of image frames;

based on each estimated frame-by-frame magnetic field inhomogeneity, perform dynamic frame-wise distortion correction for each of the plurality of image frames to generate corrected data; and

generate a respective field map for each image frame of the plurality of image frames based on the corrected data, wherein each respective field map is based on a respective field map time series corresponding to a respective ME-fMRI time series for the plurality of image frames.

2 . A computer system in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the at least one difference is a phase difference between the two or more echoes.

3 . A computer system in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the dynamic frame-wise distortion correction is performed without any acquiring any separate field maps other than the generated respective field maps.

4 . A computer system in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further programmed to:

generate each respective field map based on a displacement field conversion for the corresponding field map time series.

5 . A computer system in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further programmed to convert the phase information via at least one of phase unwrapping and linear fitting.

6 . A computer system in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the dynamic frame-wise distortion correction is configured to correct anatomical alignment inaccuracies in each of the plurality of image frames.

7 . A computer system in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the estimation of the frame-by-frame magnetic field homogeneity includes the at least one processor being programmed to estimate the frame-by-frame magnetic field inhomogeneity as a slope of a linear relationship between at least one phase and at least one echo time of the two or more echoes.

8 . A computer system in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further programmed to perform low rank approximation to remove noise components in association with the generation of the one or more field maps.

9 . A computer system in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further programmed to correct for off-resonance effects in association with the performance of the dynamic frame-wise distortion correction.

10 . A computer system in accordance with claim 9 , wherein the off-resonance effects include at least one of eddy currents and Maxwell gradients.

11 . A computer-implemented method for providing functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) distortion correction using at least one processor in communication with at least one memory, the method comprising:

receiving multi-echo functional MRI (ME-fMRI) data obtained from one or more MRI scanners configured to perform at least one magnetic resonance acquisition, the ME-EMRI data including phase information and time information associated with the at least one magnetic resonance acquisition;

measuring at least one difference between two or more echoes of a plurality of echoes associated with the at least one magnetic resonance acquisition;

sampling distortion across a plurality of image frames included in the ME-fMRI data, the distortion being a result of fluctuating magnetic field inhomogeneities associated with the two or more echoes;

estimating, based on the sampled distortion, a frame-by-frame magnetic field inhomogeneity for each of the plurality of image frames;

based on each estimated frame-by-frame magnetic field inhomogeneity, performing dynamic frame-wise distortion correction for each of the plurality of image frames to generate corrected data; and

generating a respective field map for each image frame of the plurality of image frames based on the corrected data, wherein each respective field map is based on a respective field map time series corresponding to a respective ME-fMRI time series for the plurality of image frames.

12 . A computer-implemented method in accordance with claim 11 , wherein the at least one difference is a phase difference between the two or more echoes.

13 . A computer-implemented method in accordance with claim 11 , further comprising generating each respective field map based on a displacement field conversion for the corresponding field map time series.

14 . A computer-implemented method in accordance with claim 11 , wherein the dynamic frame-wise distortion correction is configured to correct anatomical alignment inaccuracies in each of the plurality of image frames.

15 . A computer-implemented method in accordance with claim 11 , wherein the estimating of the frame-by-frame magnetic field homogeneity includes estimating the frame-by-frame magnetic field inhomogeneity as a slope of a linear relationship between at least one phase and at least one echo time of the two or more echoes.

16 . One or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media for a computing system providing functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) distortion correction, the one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media comprising a plurality of instructions stored thereon that, in response to being executed, cause the computing system to:

receive multi-echo functional MRI (ME-fMRI) data obtained from one or more MRI scanners configured to perform at least one magnetic resonance acquisition, the ME-fMRI data including phase information and time information associated with the at least one magnetic resonance acquisition;

measure at least one difference between two or more echoes of a plurality of echoes associated with the at least one magnetic resonance acquisition;

sample distortion across a plurality of image frames included in the ME-fMRI data, the distortion being a result of fluctuating magnetic field inhomogeneities associated with the two or more echoes;

estimate, based on the sampled distortion, a frame-by-frame magnetic field inhomogeneity for each of the plurality of image frames;

based on each estimated frame-by-frame magnetic field inhomogeneity, perform dynamic frame-wise distortion correction for each of the plurality of image frames to generate corrected data; and

generate a respective field map for each image frame of the plurality of image frames based on the corrected data, wherein each respective field map is based on a respective field map time series corresponding to a respective ME-fMRI time series for the plurality of image frames.

17 . One or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media in accordance with claim 16 , wherein the at least one difference is a phase difference between the two or more echoes.

18 . One or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media in accordance with claim 16 , wherein the plurality of instructions, in response to being executed, further cause the computing system to generate each respective field map based on a displacement field conversion for the corresponding field map time series.

19 . One or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media in accordance with claim 16 , wherein the dynamic frame-wise distortion correction is configured to correct anatomical alignment inaccuracies in each of the plurality of image frames.

20 . One or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media in accordance with claim 16 , wherein the estimation of the frame-by-frame magnetic field homogeneity includes the plurality of instructions, in response to being executed, causing the computing system to estimate the frame-by-frame magnetic field inhomogeneity as a slope of a linear relationship between at least one phase and at least one echo time of the two or more echoes.