Systems and methods for improved and efficient determination of the specific absorption rate (SAR) in MRI

1. A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system comprising:

an MRI gantry having components including a static magnetic field coil, gradient magnetic field coils, at least one radio frequency (RF) coil configured to transmit RF nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) RF excitation pulses into an imaging volume and to receive NMR RF signals from a patient located in the imaging volume; and

one or more computer control circuits configured and connected to control said gantry components to perform operations comprising:

receive one or more input parameters including a weight for the patient;

calculate a body surface area (BSA) for the patient based upon the received one or more input parameters;

monitor total power delivered to the at least one RF coil;

determine a power ratio, based upon the calculated BSA, between total power and power deposited in the patient;

calculate a specific absorption rate (SAR) based upon at least the determined power ratio and the total power; and

causing the one or more control circuits to control the transmission of RF signals based upon the calculated SAR.

2. The MRI system according to claim 1 , wherein determining a power ratio comprises:

accessing a memory having stored therein predetermined data associating each of a plurality of BSA values with a respective corresponding power ratio; and

ascertaining, based upon the accessed predetermined data, a power ratio corresponding to the calculated BSA as the determined power ratio.

3. The MRI system according to claim 2 ,

wherein the predetermined data corresponds to a derived linear relationship between the BSA values and the corresponding power ratios, and

wherein ascertaining a power ratio is based upon the derived linear relationship.

4. The MRI system according to claim 2 ,

wherein the plurality of BSA values and the corresponding power ratios include measured data from a plurality of patients.

5. The MRI system according to claim 1 ,

wherein determining a power ratio is based upon the calculated BSA and a landmark, the landmark corresponding to an area, located within the imaging volume, of the patient.

6. The MRI system according to claim 5 , wherein determining a power ratio further includes:

accessing a memory having stored therein, for each of a plurality of landmarks, predetermined data associating each of a plurality of BSA values with a respective corresponding power ratio for the landmark; and

ascertaining, based upon a portion of the accessed predetermined data corresponding to the landmark, a power ratio corresponding to the calculated BSA as the determined power ratio.

7. The MRI system according to claim 6 ,

wherein the accessed predetermined data includes a derived linear relationship between BSA values and respective corresponding power ratios for the landmark, and

wherein ascertaining a power ratio is based upon the derived linear relationship.

8. The MRI system according to claim 7 , wherein the linear relationship incorporates a safety margin along a line fitted to a plurality of data points representing the BSA values and the corresponding power ratios.

9. The MRI system according to claim 8 , wherein the linear relationship is based upon a piece-wise linear fit of the plurality of data points representing BSA values and corresponding power ratios and one or more safety margins applied to the piecewise linear fit.

10. The MRI system according to claim 7 , wherein the accessed predetermined data provides a first value and a second value such that the power ratio is equal to the first value times the calculated BSA plus the second value.

11. The MRI system according to claim 1 , wherein calculating the SAR is based upon the determined power ratio, the total power, and the weight of the patient.

12. The MRI system according to claim 10 , wherein calculating the SAR is based upon information regarding the one or more pulse sequences.

13. A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) method comprising:

configuring and using an MRI system having a static magnetic field coil, gradient magnetic field coils, at least one radio frequency (RF) coil configured to transmit nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) RF excitation pulses into an imaging volume and to receive NMR RF signals from a patient located in the imaging volume, one or more computer control circuits to perform operations comprising:

receiving one or more input parameters including a weight for the patient;

calculating a body surface area (BSA) for the patient based upon the received one or more input parameters;

monitor total power delivered to the at least one RF coil;

determining a power ratio, based upon the calculated BSA, between the total power and power deposited in the patient;

calculating a specific absorption rate (SAR) based upon at least the determined power ratio and the total power; and

causing the one or more control circuits to control the transmission of RF signals based upon the calculated SAR.

14. The method according to claim 13 , wherein determining a power ratio comprises:

accessing a memory having stored therein predetermined data associating each of a plurality of BSA values with a respective corresponding power ratio; and

ascertaining, based upon the accessed predetermined data, a power ratio corresponding to the calculated BSA as the determined power ratio.

15. The method according to claim 14 , wherein the predetermined data corresponds to a derived linear relationship between the BSA values and the corresponding power ratios, and

wherein ascertaining a power ratio is based upon the derived linear relationship.

16. The method according to claim 13 , wherein determining a power ratio is based upon the calculated BSA and a landmark, the landmark corresponding to an area, located within the imaging volume, of the patient.

17. The method according to claim 16 , wherein determining a power ratio further includes:

accessing a memory having stored therein, for each of a plurality of landmarks, predetermined data associating each of a plurality of BSA values with a respective corresponding power ratio for the landmark; and

ascertaining, based upon a portion of the accessed predetermined data corresponding to the landmark, a power ratio corresponding to the calculated BSA as the determined power ratio.

18. The method according to claim 13 , wherein calculating a SAR is based upon the determined power ratio, the total power, and the weight of the patient.