Method and Device for Determining a Magnetic Resonance System Control Sequence

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This invention presents a method and device for determining the control sequence of a magnetic resonance (MR) system, specifically focusing on generating smooth and hardware-friendly multi-channel RF (radiofrequency) pulses for MR imaging. By representing each channel's RF pulse as a linear combination of carefully chosen functions (such as Fourier functions, polynomials, or wavelets), the system optimizes the sequence to achieve the desired tissue excitation with reduced pulse discontinuities, lower hardware load, and improved image quality. The approach can be implemented in software and integrated into existing MR system workflows.

Use CasesContent extracted from patent full text and abstract with AI.

• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners for clinical diagnosis in hospitals and clinics.
• Advanced research MR systems for neuroscience, cardiology, or musculoskeletal imaging.
• Preclinical MRI systems for animal or material research.
• Development and testing of new MRI pulse sequence designs by researchers or manufacturers.
• Retrofitting or upgrading existing MRI systems' software to enhance RF pulse transmission efficiency.

BenefitsContent extracted from patent full text and abstract with AI.

• Produces smoother, more hardware-compatible RF pulses that are easier for MR systems to generate and transmit, reducing the risk of signal distortion.
• Enables faster and more computationally efficient pulse optimization, maintaining or improving the quality of the target magnetization pattern.
• Allows control over the frequency bandwidth of the pulses, improving transmission quality and system reliability.
• Reduces the specific absorption rate (SAR) and energy load on patients by efficient pulse design.
• Can be flexibly implemented via software—existing MR equipment can be enhanced with this method without a full hardware overhaul.

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Patent Abstract

The invention relates to a method and control sequence determination device (22) for determining a magnetic resonance system activation sequence (AS) which comprises a multichannel pulse (MP) having a plurality of individual HF pulses to be transmitted in parallel by the magnetic resonance system (1) via different independent high-frequency transmission channels (S1, ..., SN). Using a predefined target magnetization (ZM) in an HF-pulse optimization method, a multichannel pulse (MP) is determined, wherein the pulse shapes of the HF pulses for the various high-frequency transmission channels (S1, ..., SN) are each described by a linear combination of models (aK) and, in the HF-pulse optimization method, coefficients (wc k) of the linear combinations are determined. The invention further relates to a method for operating a magnetic resonance system (1) and a magnetic resonance system (1) having such a control sequence determination device (22).