Magnetic resonance system and method for spatially resolved detection of movement processes

1. A magnetic resonance method for spatially resolved detection and display of movement processes in an examination subject, comprising the steps of:

placing an examination subject in a magnetic resonance data acquisition unit and, with said data acquisition unit, imposing a magnetization pattern on at least a portion of a fluid medium, comprising intestinal contents subject to intestinal peristalsis, located in the intestine of the examination subject by executing two magnetic resonance data acquisition sequences in said data acquisition unit that respectively produce individual magnetization patterns that are orthogonal to each other, said magnetization pattern being formed as a grid of said individual magnetization patterns, said grid comprising a plurality of node points;

with the data acquisition unit, acquiring an acquired image data set from a region of the examination subject on which said magnetization pattern was imposed, selected from the group consisting of a complete image data set that images said region, and a portion of a complete image data set that images said region;

supplying said acquired image data set to a processor and, in said processor, automatically analyzing said magnetization pattern to determine at least one item of movement information from said acquired image data set by analyzing a spatial arrangement of said magnetization pattern and by identifying a displacement between respective node points corresponding to each other in said acquired image data sets, and analyzing said displacement together with said spatial arrangement to determine said item of movement information; and

from said processor visually presenting said at least one item of movement information in a humanly perceptible form.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1 comprising imposing said magnetization pattern by generating a sequence, in said data acquisition unit, comprising a plurality of pulses that form a binomial excitation pulse and at least one magnetic field gradient.

3. A method as claimed in claim 2 comprising imposing said magnetization pattern by exciting nuclear spins in multiple slices of the examination subject with saturated and unsaturated spins alternating with each other.

4. A method as claimed in claim 1 comprising representing said displacement as a vector and determining a total displacement as a sum of respective magnitudes of vectors from multiple acquired image data sets.

5. A method as claimed in claim 1 comprising representing said displacement as a vector and determining a total displacement as a sum of vectors from multiple acquired image data sets.

6. A method as claimed in claim 1 comprising presenting the determined displacement with a temporal offset corresponding to a sequence of respective points in time of acquisitions of the respective acquired image data sets.

7. A method as claimed in claim 1 comprising overlaying a total vector representing a sum of vectors of the displacement of said node point for multiple acquired image data sets, on a magnetic resonance image generated from the acquired image data set.

8. A method as claimed in claim 1 comprising determining a magnitude of said total vector and color coding said magnitude in a visual display to depict said item of movement information.

9. A method as claimed in claim 8 comprising selecting said color dependent on a direction of said vector and determining a transparency of the color depending on the magnitude of said total vector.

10. A method as claimed in claim 8 comprising selecting said color dependent on a direction of said vector relative to a surface normal of a segment of the intestine of the examination subject.

11. A magnetic resonance tomography apparatus for spatially resolved detection and display of movement processes in an examination subject, comprising:

a magnetic resonance data acquisition unit configured to receive an examination subject therein;

a control unit configured to operate said data acquisition unit to impose a magnetization pattern on at least a portion of a fluid medium, comprising intestinal contents subject to intestinal peristalsis, located in the intestine of the examination subject by executing two magnetic resonance data acquisition sequences in said data acquisition unit that respectively produce individual magnetization patterns that are orthogonal to each other, said magnetization pattern being formed as a grid of said individual magnetization patterns, said grid comprising a plurality of node points;

said control unit being configured to operate said data acquisition unit to acquire an acquired image data set from a region of the examination subject on which said magnetization pattern was imposed, selected from the group consisting of a complete image data set that images said region, and a portion of a complete image data set that images said region;

a processor supplied with said acquired image data set, said processor being configured to automatically analyze said magnetization pattern to determine at least one item of movement information from said acquired image data set by analyzing a spatial arrangement of said magnetization pattern and by identifying a displacement between respective node points corresponding to each other in said acquired image data sets, and analyzing said displacement together with said spatial arrangement to determine said item of movement information; and

said processor emitting an output from which said at least one item of movement information is presentable in a humanly perceptible form.