SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR VOLUMETRIC ACQUISITION IN A SINGLE-SIDED MRI SCANNER
A method for performing magnetic resonance imaging is provided. The method includes providing a magnetic resonance imaging system comprising: a radio frequency receive system comprising a radio frequency receive coil, and a housing, wherein the housing comprises a permanent magnet for providing an inhomogeneous permanent gradient field, a radio frequency transmit system, and a single-sided gradient coil set. The method also includes placing the receive coil proximate a target subject; applying a sequence of chirped pulses via the transmit system; applying a multi-slice excitation along the inhomogeneous permanent gradient field; applying a plurality of gradient pulses via the gradient coil set orthogonal to the inhomogeneous permanent gradient field; acquiring a signal of the target subject via the receive system, wherein the signal comprises at least two chirped pulses; and forming a magnetic resonance image of the target subject.
1 . (canceled)
2 . A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system, the MRI system comprising:
a radio frequency receive coil proximate a target subject;
a single-sided gradient coil set configured to project an inhomogeneous permanent gradient magnetic field to the target subject, wherein the gradient coil set is non-planar and oriented to partially surround the target subject; and
one or more processors communicably coupled to the radio frequency receive coil and a memory storing instructions that, when executed, cause the MRI system to:
apply a sequence of chirped pulses having a wide bandwidth;
select a slice selection gradient having the same wide bandwidth;
apply a multi-slice excitation technique along an axis of the inhomogeneous permanent gradient magnetic field;
apply a plurality of gradient pulses orthogonal to the inhomogeneous permanent gradient magnetic field; and
acquire a signal of the target subject via the radio frequency receive coil.
3 . The MRI system of claim 2 , further comprising a tuning box and a radio frequency transmit coil, wherein the tuning box is configured to alter a frequency response of the radio frequency transmit coil.
4 . The MRI system of claim 3 , wherein the radio frequency transmit coil is non-planar and oriented to partially surround the target subject.
5 . The MRI system of claim 2 , wherein the radio frequency receive coil is a flexible coil configured to be affixed to an anatomical portion of a patient for imaging within a region of interest.
6 . The MRI system of claim 5 , wherein the radio frequency receive coil is in one of a single-loop coil configuration, figure-8 coil configuration, or butterfly coil configuration, wherein the radio frequency receive coil is smaller than the region of interest.
7 . The MRI system of claim 2 , wherein the sequence of chirped pulses comprise identical bandwidths and differing durations.
8 . The MRI system of claim 7 , wherein the sequence of chirped pulses have a bandwidth ranging from 1 kHz to 10 kHz, 10 kHz to 40 kHz, 40 kHz to 100 kHz, 100 kHz to 400 kHz, 400 kHz to 1 MHz, or any ranges of bandwidth thereof.
9 . The MRI system of claim 2 , wherein the sequence of chirped pulses are configured to produce a 1-dimensional signal along an axis of the inhomogeneous permanent gradient field.
10 . The MRI system of claim 9 , wherein the 1-dimensional signal is a first 1-dimensional signal, and wherein the gradient pulses are configured to produce a second 1-dimensional signal and a third 1-dimensional signal that are orthogonal to each other and to the axis of the inhomogeneous permanent gradient field.
11 . The MRI system of claim 2 , wherein the gradient pulses are configured for encoding spatial information to the signal.
12 . The MRI system of claim 2 , wherein the target subject is an anatomical portion of a body.
13 . The MRI system of claim 2 , wherein the radio frequency receive coil comprises an array of radio frequency receive coils and each of the array of radio frequency receive coils is configured for specific anatomical portions of a body.
14 . The MRI system of claim 2 , wherein the sequence of chirped pulses are configured to induce a signal in the target subject, and the signal is received by the radio frequency receive coil.
15 . The MRI system of claim 2 , further comprising a signal conditioning box and a control system, wherein the signal conditioning box is configured to turn the control system on and off with a blanking signal.
16 . The MRI system of claim 15 , further comprising a radio frequency amplifier, wherein turning the system on and off with the blanking signal respectively enables and disables the radio frequency amplifier.
17 . The MRI system of claim 2 , further comprising a power source, wherein the power source is configured to flow current through the single-sided gradient coil set to generate an electromagnetic field in a region of interest, wherein the region of interest encompasses the target subject.
18 . The MRI system of claim 17 , wherein the region of interest has a diameter ranging from about 4 to about 12 inches.
19 . The MRI system of claim 2 , further comprising a first stage preamplifier, a transformer, and a second stage preamplifier, wherein the first stage preamplifier, the transformer, and the second stage preamplifier are configured to improve the acquired signal's resistance to noise.
20 . The MRI system of claim 2 , wherein selecting the slice selection gradient comprises selecting an entire imaging volume of the target subject with one slice.
21 . The MRI system of claim 2 , further comprising a software design radio configured to generate the sequence of chirped pulses.