Adaptive shim coils for MR imaging

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

a housing having a bore in which at least a portion of a subject to be image is placed;

a main magnet accommodated by the housing and configured to generate a magnetic field within the bore;

one or more gradient coils configured to linearly vary the magnetic field as a function of spatial location therein;

one or more pulse generating coils configured to generate and apply radio frequency (RF) pulses to the magnetic field in sequence to scan the portion of the subject;

one or more shim gradient coils configured to perturb the magnetic field; and

a control unit configured to:

access an indication of at least one user-defined region that is adjustable both axially and laterally within a field of view of the MRI system, the field of view corresponding to a 2D image slice encompassing the at least one user-defined region, and

operate the gradient coils, pulse generating coils, and shim gradient coils such that (i) a field inhomogeneity of the at least one user-defined region within the 2D image slice is reduced to become suitable for magnetic resonance imaging while a field inhomogeneity of the magnetic field outside the at least one user-defined region within the 2D image slice is simultaneously increased to become unsuitable for magnetic resonance imaging, and (ii) a frequency response of the RF pulses have a coherent effect only within the at least one user-defined region, wherein RF emissions are acquired, in response to the RF pulses and when the magnetic field is perturbed by the shim gradient coils, from the at least one user-defined region within the 2D image slice that corresponds to the field of view of the MRI system, the RF emissions encoding one or more magnetic resonance images solely of the at least one user-defined region within the 2D image slice that corresponds to the field of view of the MRI system based on, at least in part, the function of spatial location according to which the magnetic field is varied by the one or more gradient coils.

2. The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system of claim 1 , wherein the control unit is configured to operate the gradient coils, pulse generating coils, and shim gradient coils such that a resonant frequency of water falls outside of an RF bandwidth of the RF pulses in the magnetic field outside of the at least one user-defined region.

3. The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system of claim 1 , wherein the user-defined region is not centered on an isocenter of the magnetic field.

4. The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one user-defined region includes at least two regions that are unconnected regions within the magnetic field.

5. The magnetic resonance (MRI) system of claim 1 , wherein the control unit is configured to access a new indication of a new user-defined region within the magnetic field and operate the gradient coils, pulse generating coils, and shim gradient coils to obtain one or more magnetic resonance images of the new user-defined region within the magnetic field, the new user-defined region having a different shape than the at least one user-defined region.

6. The magnetic resonance (MRI) system of claim 1 , wherein the control unit is configured to access a new indication of a new user-defined region within the magnetic field and operate the gradient coils, pulse generating coils, and shim gradient coils to obtain one or more magnetic resonance images of the new user-defined region within the magnetic field, the new user-defined region having a different size than the at least one user-defined region.

7. A method for operating a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system comprising a housing having a bore in which at least a portion of a subject to be image is placed, and a main magnet accommodated by the housing and configured to generate a magnetic field within the bore, the method comprising:

accessing an indication of at least one user-defined region that is adjustable both axially and laterally within a field of view of the MRI system, the field of view corresponding to a 2D image slice encompassing the at least one user-defined region;

operating one or more pulse generating coils to generate and apply radio frequency (RF) pulses to the magnetic field to scan the portion of the subject;

operating one or more gradient coils to linearly vary the magnetic field as a function of spatial location therein;

operating one or more shim gradient coils to perturb the at least one user-defined region such that a field inhomogeneity of the at least one user-defined region within the 2D image slice is reduced to become suitable for magnetic resonance imaging while a field inhomogeneity of the magnetic field outside the at least one user-defined region within the 2D image slice is increased to become unsuitable for magnetic resonance imaging; and

in response to the RF pulses and when the magnetic field is perturbed by the shim gradient coils, acquiring RF emissions from the at least one user-defined region within the 2D image slice that corresponds to the field of view of the MRI system, wherein the RF pulses have a coherent effect only within the at least one user-defined region, and wherein the RF emissions encode one or more magnetic resonance images solely of the at least one user-defined region within the 2D image slice that corresponds to the field of view of the Mill system based on, at least in part, the function of spatial location according to which the magnetic field is varied by the one or more gradient coils.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein operating one or more shim gradient coils to perturb the at least one user-defined region comprises operating the one or more shim gradient coils such that a resonant frequency of water falls outside of an RF bandwidth of the RF pulses in the magnetic field outside of the user-defined region.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein accessing an indication of at least one user-defined region to be imaged within the magnetic field comprises accessing an indication of at least one user-defined region that is not centered on an isocenter of the magnetic field.

10. The method of claim 7 , wherein accessing an indication of at least one user-defined region to be imaged within the magnetic field comprises accessing an indication of at least one user-defined region that includes at least two regions that are unconnected regions within the magnetic field.

11. The method of claim 7 , further comprising:

accessing a new indication of a new user-defined region within the magnetic field; and

operating the gradient coils, pulse generating coils, and shim gradient coils to obtain one or more magnetic resonance images of the new user-defined region within the magnetic field, the new user-defined region having a different shape than the at least one user-defined region.

12. The method of claim 7 , further comprising:

accessing a new indication of a new user-defined region within the magnetic field; and

operating the gradient coils, pulse generating coils, and shim gradient coils to obtain one or more magnetic resonance images of the new user-defined region within the magnetic field, the new user-defined region having a different size than the at least one user-defined region.