阅读说明：本技术 具有温度映射的mr成像 (MR imaging with temperature mapping ) 是由 K·内尔克 P·博尔纳特 于 2014-10-14 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明涉及一种对被放置在MR设备(1)的检查体积中的目标(10)进行MR成像的方法。本发明的目的是提供改进的基于MR的温度映射方法。本发明的方法包括以下步骤：使所述目标(10)经受RF脉冲和切换的磁场梯度的成像序列,所述成像序列是受激回波序列,其包括：a)在准备时期(21)期间朝向所述目标(10)辐射的至少两个准备RF脉冲(α),以及b)在时间上继所述准备时期(21)之后的采集时期(22)期间朝向所述目标(10)辐射的一个或多个读取RF脉冲(β)；在所述采集时期(22)期间采集至少两个MR信号,其中,所述两个MR信号或者是(i)FID信号(I-(1)、FID)和受激回波信号(I-(2))或者是(ii)两个受激回波信号(STE、STE～(*))；并且根据所述至少两个采集到的MR信号来导出指示所述目标(10)内的温度的空间分布的温度图。此外,本发明涉及一种MR设备(1)和用于MR设备(1)的计算机程序。(The invention relates to a method of MR imaging of an object (10) placed in an examination volume of a MR device (1). It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved MR based temperature mapping method. The method of the invention comprises the following steps: subjecting the object (10) to an imaging sequence of RF pulses and switched magnetic field gradients, the imaging sequence being a stimulated echo sequence comprising: a) at least two preparation RF pulses (a) radiated towards the object (10) during a preparation period (21), and b) one or more preparation RF pulses (a) radiated towards the object (10) during an acquisition period (22) temporally subsequent to the preparation period (21)A read RF pulse (β); acquiring at least two MR signals during the acquisition period (22), wherein the two MR signals are either (I) FID signals (I) 1 FID) and stimulated echo signal (I) 2 ) Or (ii) two stimulated echo signals (STE ) * ) (ii) a And deriving a temperature map indicative of a spatial distribution of temperature within the object (10) from the at least two acquired MR signals. Furthermore, the invention relates to a MR device (1) and to a computer program for a MR device (1).)

1. Method of MR imaging of an object (10) placed in an examination volume of a MR device (1), the method comprising the steps of:

subjecting the object (10) to an imaging sequence of RF pulses and switched magnetic field gradients, the imaging sequence being a stimulated echo sequence comprising:

a) at least two preparation RF pulses (a) radiated towards the object (10) during a preparation period (21), and

b) one or more read RF pulses (β) radiated towards the target (10) during an acquisition period (22) temporally subsequent to the preparation period (21);

acquiring at least two MR signals during the acquisition period (22), wherein the two MR signals are either (I) FID signals (I)₁FID) and stimulated echo signal (I)₂) Or (ii) a stimulated echo signal and a conjugated stimulated echo signal (STE )^*) (ii) a And is

Deriving a temperature map indicative of a spatial distribution of temperature within the target (10) from the FID signal and a complex conjugated stimulated echo signal, in case the two MR signals are (i) an FID signal and a stimulated echo signal; or in case the two MR signals are (ii) a stimulated echo signal and a conjugated stimulated echo signal, deriving a temperature map indicative of a spatial distribution of a temperature within the target (10) from the complex conjugated stimulated echo signal and the conjugated stimulated echo signal.

2. Method according to claim 1, wherein each of the at least two preparation RF pulses (a) has a flip angle of 45 ° -90 °.

3. Method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a plurality of FID signals (I)₁) And/or stimulated echo signals (I)₂) Is generated by means of a corresponding plurality of consecutive read RF pulses (β), each of which has a flip angle smaller than 90 °.

4. Method according to claim 3, wherein a plurality of FID signals (I ™)₁) And/or stimulated echo signals (I)₂) Is generated by means of a corresponding plurality of consecutive read RF pulses (β), each of which has a flip angle smaller than 45 °.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein a plurality of FID signals (I ™)₁) And/or stimulated echo signals (I)₂) Is generated by means of a corresponding plurality of consecutive read RF pulses (β), each of which has a flip angle smaller than 30 °.

6. Method according to any of claims 1-2, wherein the FID signal (I)₁) And said stimulated echo signal (I)₂、STE、STE^*) Are acquired as gradient echo signals.

7. Method of any one of claims 1-2, wherein the temperature map is derived from voxel-wise phase differences of two acquired MR signals.

8. Method of any one of claims 1-2, wherein the parameters of the imaging sequence are selected such that the signal contributions from water spins and fat spins are superimposed on the acquired MR signals in a manner that allows reconstruction of a separate water image and a separate fat image.

9. The method of any one of claims 1-2, wherein during the acquisition period (22), acquisitions are each at a different echo timeTo the acquired direct stimulated echo signal (I)_STE) And a conjugated stimulated echo signal

10. Method of any one of claims 1-2, separating signal contributions from water spins from signal contributions from fat spins in the acquired MR signals using a two-or multi-point Dixon technique.

11. Method of claim 10, wherein the temperature map is derived from only the signal contributions from water spins in the acquired MR signals.

12. The method of any one of claims 1-2, wherein at least one RF pulse of the imaging sequence is spectrally selective for the MR resonance frequency of water spins.

13. The method of any one of claims 1-2, wherein at least one fat saturation preparation RF pulse is radiated towards the object (10) before the at least two preparation RF pulses (a) of the stimulated echo sequence.

14. An MR apparatus, comprising: at least one main magnet coil (2) for generating a homogeneous, steady magnetic field within an examination volume; a plurality of gradient coils (4, 5, 6) for generating switched magnetic field gradients in different spatial directions within the examination volume; at least one RF coil (9) for generating RF pulses within the examination volume and/or for receiving MR signals from a target (10) positioned in the examination volume; a control unit (15) for controlling the temporal sequence of the RF pulses and the switched magnetic field gradients; and a reconstruction unit (17) for reconstructing a MR image from the received MR signals, wherein the MR device (1) is arranged to perform the steps of:

subjecting the object (10) to an imaging sequence of RF pulses and switched magnetic field gradients, the imaging sequence being a stimulated echo sequence comprising:

a) at least two preparation RF pulses (a) radiated towards the object (10) during a preparation period (21), and

b) one or more read RF pulses (β) radiated towards the target (10) during an acquisition period (22) temporally subsequent to the preparation period (21);

acquiring at least two MR signals during the acquisition period (22), wherein the two MR signals are either (I) FID signals (I)₁FID) and stimulated echo signal (I)₂) Or (ii) a stimulated echo signal and a conjugated stimulated echo signal (STE )^*) (ii) a And is

Deriving a temperature map indicative of a spatial distribution of temperature within the target (10) from the FID signal and a complex conjugated stimulated echo signal, in case the two MR signals are (i) an FID signal and a stimulated echo signal; or in case the two MR signals are (ii) a stimulated echo signal and a conjugated stimulated echo signal, deriving a temperature map indicative of a spatial distribution of a temperature within the target (10) from the complex conjugated stimulated echo signal and the conjugated stimulated echo signal.

15. A computer readable medium comprising instructions that when executed by a processor are operable to:

generating an imaging sequence of RF pulses and switched magnetic field gradients, the imaging sequence being a stimulated echo sequence comprising:

a) at least two preparation RF pulses (a) radiated during a preparation period (21), and

b) one or more read RF pulses (β) radiated during an acquisition period (22) temporally subsequent to the preparation period (21);

acquiring at least two MR signals during the acquisition period (22), wherein the two MR signals are either (I) FID signals (I)₁FID) and stimulated echo signal (I)₂) Or (ii) a stimulated echo signal and a conjugated stimulated echo signal (STE )^*) (ii) a And is

Deriving a temperature map indicative of a spatial distribution of temperature within the target from the FID signal and the complex conjugated stimulated echo signal, in the case that the two MR signals are (i) an FID signal and a stimulated echo signal; or in case the two MR signals are (ii) a stimulated echo signal and a conjugated stimulated echo signal, deriving a temperature map indicative of a spatial distribution of a temperature within the target from the complex conjugated stimulated echo signal and the conjugated stimulated echo signal.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of Magnetic Resonance (MR) imaging. The invention concerns a method of MR imaging of an object. The invention also relates to an MR device and a computer program to be run on an MR device.

Background

Image-forming MR methods which utilize the interaction between magnetic fields and nuclear spins in order to form two-dimensional or three-dimensional images are widely used today, in particular in the field of medical diagnostics, because for the imaging of soft tissue they are superior to other imaging methods in many respects, do not require ionizing radiation and are generally non-invasive.

According to the usual MR method, the body of a patient to be examined is arranged in a strong, homogeneous magnetic field (B)₀Field) the direction of which at the same time defines the axis (usually the z-axis) of the coordinate system on which the measurement is based. The magnetic field produces different energy levels for individual nuclear spins, which can be excited by applying an electromagnetic alternating field (RF field, also referred to as B) of a defined frequency (so-called larmor frequency or MR frequency), depending on the magnetic field strength₁Field) to be excited (spin resonance). From a macroscopic point of view, the distribution of the individual nuclear spins produces an overall magnetization which can be deflected from the equilibrium state by applying electromagnetic pulses of appropriate frequency (RF pulses), while the magnetic field extends perpendicular to the z-axis, so that the magnetization performs a precessional motion about the z-axis. The precession motion describes the surface of a cone whose hole angle is referred to as the flip angle. The magnitude of the flip angle depends on the strength and duration of the applied electromagnetic pulse. In the case of a so-called 90 ° pulse, the spins are deflected from the z-axis into the transverse plane (flip angle 90 °).

After the RF pulse ends, the magnetization relaxes back to the original equilibrium state, where it is at equilibriumIn the state with a first time constant T₁The magnetization in the z-direction is reconstructed (spin lattice or longitudinal relaxation time) and with a second time constant T₂(spin-spin or transverse relaxation time) relaxes the magnetization in the direction perpendicular to the z-direction. The change in magnetization can be detected by means of one or more receiving RF coils which are arranged and oriented within the examination volume of the MR device in such a way that the change in magnetization is measured in a direction perpendicular to the z-axis. After application of, for example, a 90 ° pulse, the decay of the transverse magnetization is accompanied by a transition (induced by the local magnetic field inhomogeneity) of the nuclear spins from an ordered state with the same phase to a state (dephasing) in which all phase angles are uniformly distributed. The phase loss can be compensated by means of a refocusing pulse (e.g. a 180 deg. pulse). This produces an echo signal (spin echo) in the receive coil.

To achieve spatial resolution in the body, linear magnetic field gradients extending along the three main axes are superimposed on the uniform magnetic field, resulting in a linear spatial dependence of the spin resonance frequency. The signal picked up in the receiving coil then contains components of different frequencies that can be associated with different locations in the body. The MR signal data obtained via the RF coils correspond to the spatial frequency domain and are referred to as k-space data. k-space data typically comprises a plurality of lines acquired with different phase encodings. Each line is digitized by collecting a plurality of samples. A set of k-space data is converted into an MR image by means of a fourier transformation.

Measurement of tissue temperature is particularly important in many MR-guided diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Thus, for example, in MR-HIFU ("magnetic resonance guided high intensity focused ultrasound") applications, where tissue is locally heated and destroyed by focused irradiation of ultrasound energy, it is necessary to monitor local changes in the temperature distribution in the procedure in order to be able to control the irradiation of ultrasound in a targeted manner. The heating management scheme must be adapted to keep the local temperature increase to healthy tissue within allowable limits while heating the target to be destroyed (e.g. a malignant tumor) sufficiently. Besides MR-HIFU, there are a variety of other therapeutic procedures as well as diagnostic and functional MR studies, where the spatial distribution of temperature changes may be of interest and need to be monitored.

One of the most sensitive MR-based temperature mapping methods is the known proton Resonance frequency shift (PRF) method ("Magnetic Resonance in Medicine" by Rieke et al, Vol. 51, p. 1223-1231). The magnetic resonance frequency of the water protons changes according to the temperature. The temperature change induces a slight change in the bonding angle between protons in the water molecules, resulting in a change in the electron shielding and thus a small change in the chemical shift. For gradient echo acquisitions performed at two different temperatures at a given echo time, a local change in signal phase can be observed. The disadvantage is that the PRF method requires a rather long echo time (of the order of T)₂ ^*) To achieve optimal sensitivity. Therefore, to allow real-time temperature mapping, a fast MR signal read, either spiral-based or EPI-based, is typically used, which is prone to different types of image artifacts (ghosting, blurring, image distortion, chemical shift related artifacts, etc.). Furthermore, the temperature maps acquired by conventional PRF methods are prone to errors induced by different types of effects affecting the MR signal phase, e.g. patient/organ motion, overall system drift (RF, main field magnetic field, heating of gradient coils, etc.), eddy currents, etc. Furthermore, signal components within each individual voxel of the acquired MR images can impair the PRF method. Fat does not show PRF effect. This can lead to many temperature change estimates in case both fat and water protons contribute to the MR signal within a single voxel. This is especially a problem in the context of MR-HIFU, since MR-HIFU is typically applied in abnormal chambers, where considerable amounts of visceral fat may be present. Finally, flow presents a problem in the PRF method, since flow-related phase artifacts can reduce the accuracy of PRF shift measurements.

European patent application EP 2615470 discloses the use of a stimulated echo acquisition preparation sequence to encode phase information. The method is used for encoding a local flip angle from which B is derived₁And (6) field distribution.

Disclosure of Invention

From the foregoing it can be readily appreciated that there is a need for an improved MR-based temperature mapping method.

In accordance with the invention, a method of MR imaging of an object placed in an examination volume of a MR device is disclosed. The method comprises the following steps:

-subjecting the object to an imaging sequence of RF pulses and switched magnetic field gradients, the imaging sequence being a stimulated echo sequence comprising:

a) at least two preparation RF pulses radiated toward the target during a preparation period, an

b) One or more read RF pulses radiated toward the target during an acquisition period temporally subsequent to the preparation time;

-acquiring at least two MR signals during the acquisition period, wherein the two MR signals are either (i) a FID signal and a stimulated echo signal, or (ii) two stimulated echo signals; and is

-deriving a temperature map indicative of a spatial distribution of temperature within the object from the at least two acquired MR signals.

The gist of the invention is to measure the PRF shift using a stimulated echo sequence as an imaging sequence. The imaging sequence can simply be adjusted for PRF shift measurements. During the preparation period, i.e. during stimulated echo preparation, the PRF shift can be almost completely encoded and then the MR signals can be acquired during the acquisition period in a short repetition time of a few milliseconds in the form of a very fast and robust gradient echo pulse train. Furthermore, the encoding of the PRF shift in stimulated echo preparation makes the inventive sequence very flexible with respect to different main magnetic field strengths, since only the time interval between two preparation RF pulses needs to be adapted to obtain an optimal temperature sensitivity.

The stimulated echo based temperature mapping technique of the present invention allows the acquisition of temperature maps in a single shot of a stimulated echo sequence with a duration of about 100ms, enabling the method to be performed in principle in real time.

Since the temperature map can be acquired by means of a single repetition of the imaging sequence according to the invention, this embodiment is more robust to motion than other known embodiments of the PRF method.

The method of the invention automatically reduces flow induced phase errors due to the low flow sensitivity of the stimulated echoes. However, in the case of very strong flows, precautions can be taken to prepare the longitudinal magnetization before applying the proposed sequence in such a way that the flow spins are properly suppressed. This can be easily achieved by all types of known flow-sensitive or so-called "black blood" magnetization preparation sequences.

It should be noted that the term "temperature map" within the meaning of the present invention does not necessarily refer to a map of absolute temperature according to spatial coordinates, due to the principle of the PRF shift method. It may also refer to a graph of relative temperature values indicating, for example, a temperature shift occurring between two consecutive measurement results.

In general, the stimulated echo sequence includes three (e.g., 60 ° or 90 °) RF pulses, where the first two RF pulses are preparation pulses. The first preparatory RF pulse transforms the longitudinal nuclear magnetization into a transverse nuclear magnetization. The second preparation RF pulse "stores" a portion of the dephased transverse nuclear magnetization along the longitudinal axis. In the case of a 90 deg. RF pulse, this fraction is almost half of the dephased transverse magnetization. The third RF pulse is applied during an acquisition period that temporally follows the preparation period. The third RF pulse ("read RF pulse") again converts the stored longitudinal nuclear magnetization into transverse nuclear magnetization, generating so-called stimulated echoes. Other RF refocused echoes are generated by the three RF pulse sequences, while those not of interest here are not generated and can be suppressed by appropriate gradient switching. The stimulated echo MR signals and the FID signals, which are also generated by the third RF pulse, can be acquired according to the invention and used for temperature mapping. Stimulated echo based MR imaging can be accelerated by replacing the third RF pulse with a low flip angle read RF pulse train, wherein each read RF pulse refocuses only a fraction of the longitudinal nuclear magnetization stored after a preparation period.

It has to be mentioned that the at least two preparation RF pulses for storing the magnetization along the z-axis do not have to be of the same type or have the same flip angle. However, regarding the mathematical treatment that has to evaluate the measurement data, choosing the same RF pulse and flip angle makes the form simpler.

Multiple FID signals and/or stimulated echo signals with appropriate phase encoding need to be acquired to generate a complete temperature map. For this purpose, efficient sampling schemes like EPI, parallel imaging or compressed sensing can be advantageously applied in connection with the present invention.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the FID and/or the stimulated echo signal is acquired as a gradient echo (gradiently called echo) signal.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the temperature map is derived from the voxel-wise phase difference of two acquired MR signals. For example, the MR image reconstructed from the acquired FID signals can serve as a reference to eliminate all phase shifts originating from the transmit/receive chains of the MR device used. The voxel-wise temperature-induced phase shift can be determined from the product of one of the acquired MR signals and the complex conjugated other MR signal.

According to a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the parameters of the imaging sequence (e.g. echo time, gradient strength) are selected such that the signal contributions from the water spins and the signal contributions from the fat spins are superposed in the acquired MR signals in a manner that allows reconstruction of a separate water image and a separate fat image. This enables removal of signal contributions from fat spins and renders the technique robust against chemical shift induced errors in the derived temperature map. Two or more point Dixon techniques can be used to separate the signal contributions from water and fat spins. The relative contributions of different chemical species, such as water and fat, to the overall acquired MR signal can be calculated, since information from two or more echo signals acquired at different echo times can be obtained with the method of the invention. This type of chemical shift encoding, when applied to separate the contributions of water and fat to the overall MR signal, often refers to Dixon-type measurements. In its simplest form, the echo times are chosen such that a water image and a fat image are generated by addition or subtraction of "in-phase" data sets or "out-of-phase" data sets. After the separation of the water contribution from the fat contribution, a temperature map can be derived according to the invention from only the signal contributions from the water spins in the acquired MR signals. In this way, "fat contamination" of PRF translocation can be avoided. Furthermore, the fat signal can be used as a reference to distinguish temperature induced PRF shifts from e.g. drift in main magnetic field strength.

In another embodiment, the problem of PRF shifted fat contamination may be solved according to the invention by applying one or more fat saturation preparation RF pulses before the preparation RF pulses of the stimulated echo sequence. Alternatively, the stimulated echo sequence itself may be made spectrally selective only to the encoded water signal. This can be achieved, for example, by replacing at least one (preferably the second) of the preparation RF pulses with spectrally selective RF pulses to apply RF energy only to the water species. In principle, both the stimulated echo preparation RF pulse and the RF pulse radiated during the acquisition epoch (which is not so efficient) can be made to have chemical shift selectivity to suppress the fat signal contribution.

According to a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the at least two preparation RF pulses each have a flip angle of 45 ° -90 °. In this way, the amplitude of the acquired stimulated echo signal is maximized, which is advantageous in terms of signal-to-noise ratio.

According to a further preferred embodiment of the invention, a plurality of FID signals and/or stimulated echo MR signals, each having a flip angle of less than 90 °, preferably less than 45 °, most preferably less than 30 °, are generated by means of a plurality of consecutive read RF pulses. As already mentioned above, a read RF pulse train with a small flip angle can be used to achieve a fast readout of a plurality of FID signals and/or stimulated echo signals.

According to a further preferred embodiment of the invention, two stimulated echo signals, preferably a direct stimulated echo signal and a conjugate stimulated echo signal, are acquired during the acquisition period. In this way, the sensitivity of the PRF measurement based on the stimulated echo can be further increased. Two stimulated echo signals can be acquired at different echo times, wherein the stimulated echo and the conjugate stimulated echo are refocused from the different coherent nuclear magnetizations generated by the two preparation RF pulses. Preferably, the direct stimulated echo signal and the conjugate stimulated echo signal are acquired as gradient echo (gradient echo) signals. This embodiment of the invention enables to derive a temperature map at a particularly long effective PRF encoding time.

The method of the invention described so far can be performed by means of an MR device comprising: at least one main magnet coil for generating a uniform, steady magnetic field within an examination volume; a plurality of gradient coils for generating switched magnetic field gradients in different spatial directions within the examination volume; at least one RF coil for generating RF pulses within the examination volume and/or for receiving MR signals from a body of a patient positioned in the examination volume; a control unit for controlling the temporal sequence of the RF pulses and the switched magnetic field gradients; and a reconstruction unit for reconstructing an MR image from the received MR signals. The method of the invention can be implemented by a corresponding programming of the reconstruction unit and/or the control unit of the MR device.

In current clinical use, the method of the invention can be advantageously performed in most MR apparatuses. For this purpose, it is only necessary to make use of a computer program by means of which the MR device is controlled such that it carries out the above-explained method steps of the invention. The computer program may be present on a data carrier or in a data network in order to be downloaded for installation in the control unit of the MR device.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings disclose preferred embodiments of the present invention. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed solely for the purposes of illustration and not as a definition of the limits of the invention. In the drawings:

fig. 1 schematically shows an MR device for carrying out the method of the invention;

figure 2 shows a schematic diagram illustrating an imaging sequence according to the present invention;

figure 3 shows a schematic diagram illustrating an imaging sequence in which a direct stimulated echo signal and a conjugated stimulated echo signal are acquired, according to a further embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description

Referring to fig. 1, an MR device 1 is shown. The device comprises superconducting or resistive main magnet coils 2 such that a substantially uniform and temporally constant main magnetic field B is created along the z-axis through the examination volume₀. The apparatus further comprises a set of (first, second and, when available, third) shimming coils 2', wherein B is derived within the examination volume₀For the purpose of minimizing the deviation, the current through the individual shimming coils of the set 2' is controllable.

The magnetic resonance generation and manipulation system applies a series of RF pulses and switched magnetic field gradients to invert or excite nuclear magnetic spins, induce magnetic resonance, refocus magnetic resonance, manipulate magnetic resonance, spatially and otherwise encode magnetic resonance, saturate spins, etc. to perform MR imaging.

More specifically, the gradient pulse amplifier 3 applies current pulses to selected ones of the whole-body gradient coils 4, 5 and 6 along the x-axis, y-axis and z-axis of the examination volume. A digital RF frequency transmitter 7 transmits RF pulses or pulse packets via a transmit/receive switch 8 to a body RF coil 9 for transmission of RF pulses into the examination volume. A typical MR imaging sequence includes a packet of RF pulse segments of short duration acquired together with one another, and any applied magnetic field gradients achieve a selected manipulation of nuclear magnetic resonance. The RF pulses are used to saturate, excite resonance, invert magnetization, refocus resonance, or manipulate resonance and select portions of the body 10 that are positioned in the examination volume. The MR signals are also picked up by the body RF coil 9.

For generating MR images of a limited region of the body 10 by means of parallel imaging, a set of local array RF coils 11, 12, 13 is placed adjacent to the region selected for imaging. The array RF coils 11, 12, 13 can be used for receiving MR signals induced by body coil RF transmissions. In parallel transmit applications, the array RF coils 11, 12, 13 may also be used for RF transmission, e.g. for the purpose of RF shimming.

The resulting MR signals are picked up by the body RF coil 9 and/or the array RF coils 11, 12, 13 and demodulated by a receiver 14, which receiver 14 preferably comprises a preamplifier (not shown). The receiver 14 is connected to the RF coils 9, 11, 12, and 13 via the transmission/reception switch 8.

A host computer 15 controls the current through the shimming coil 2' as well as the gradient pulse amplifier 3 and the transmitter 7 to generate any one of a plurality of MR imaging sequences, e.g., Echo Planar Imaging (EPI), echo volume imaging, gradient and spin echo imaging, fast spin echo imaging, etc. For a selected sequence, the receiver 14 receives a single or multiple ones of the MR data lines following each RF excitation pulse in rapid sequence. The data acquisition system 16 performs analog-to-digital conversion of the received signals and converts each MR data line to a digital format suitable for further processing. In modern MR devices, the data acquisition system 16 is a separate computer which exclusively acquires raw image data.

Finally, the digital raw image data are reconstructed into an image representation by a reconstruction processor 17, which reconstruction processor 17 applies a fourier transform or other suitable reconstruction algorithm such as SENSE or SMASH. The MR images may represent planar slices through the patient, an array of parallel planar slices, a three-dimensional volume, and the like. The images are then stored in an image memory where they can be accessed to convert the slices, projections or other parts of the image representation into a suitable format for visualization, e.g. via a video monitor 18, which video monitor 18 provides a human readable display of the resulting MR images.

Fig. 2 shows a schematic diagram illustrating an imaging sequence according to the present invention. The depicted imaging sequence is a stimulated echo sequence, which is subdivided into a preparation period 21 and an acquisition period 22. Two preparation RF pulses with flip angle a are applied during the preparation period 21. Separating two preparation RF pulses by a time intervalT_E. Applying a dephasing magnetic field gradient G between two preparation RF pulses_mc2. A sequence of read RF pulses with a flip angle β is generated during an acquisition period 22, which acquisition period 22 temporally follows the preparation period 21. FID Signal I₁And a stimulated echo signal I₂After each read pulse is acquired as a gradient-called echo.

Immediately after the preparation sequence 21, the longitudinal magnetization is given by the following formula:

M_z1＝cos²(α)·M₀

wherein M is_z1And M_z2Refer to the unprepared (i.e. in-phase) longitudinal magnetization and the stimulated echo prepared (i.e. out-of-phase) longitudinal magnetization, respectively. According to the invention, at different points in time T_E1And T_E1At + Δ T according to M_z1Generated FID Signal I₁And according to M_z2Generated stimulated echo signal I₂Both of which are described below. The two echoes I are determined from the relationship₁、I₂Delay Δ T between:

ΔT＝A_mc2/G_m

wherein A is_mc2Denotes dephasing gradient G_mc2Gradient time zone of (1), and G_mRefers to the strength of the readout magnetic field gradient. Ignore T₁Effect and T₂The effect, given by the following formula, of two acquired echo signals I₁And I₂：

I₁＝S·C(T_E1)sin(β)M_z1

I₂＝S·C(T_E1+ΔT-T_E)sin(β)M_z2

Wherein S represents a complex system constant for the echo signal I₁And I₂Are equal and are determined for a given voxel, for example, by transmit and receive coil sensitivities. Beta is the nominal flip of the read RF pulseAnd (4) an angle. C describes the signal dephasing due to PRF shift for a given voxel:

where ρ and ρ ω refer to proton density and temperature induced frequency shift (PRF shift), respectively. The integral describes the sum over a given voxel. For the purpose of the temperature mapping according to the invention, it is possible to determine the FID signal I from₁Stimulated echo signal with complex conjugationThe product of:

wherein the effective PRF shift encodes time t_{PRF, effective}Comprises the following steps:

t_{PRF, effective}＝T_E－ΔT

A temperature map can then be derived from the PRF method for each voxel, since the local temperature shift is proportional to the PRF phase shift:

wherein γ is a gyromagnetic ratio, and B₀Is the strength of the main magnetic field.

The sensitivity of stimulated echo based PRF shift measurements can be increased by using the triple echo acquisition shown in figure 3.

Fig. 3 shows a schematic diagram illustrating an imaging sequence according to another embodiment of the invention. The diagram shows the imaging sequence (bottom) and phase maps showing the coherent path for static, susceptibility-related gradients (top) and switched gradients (center). The read RF pulse sequence comprises a preparation period 21 and an acquisition period 22. Reading RF pulse beta to create FIDSignal, stimulated echo STE and conjugated stimulated echo STE^*Which are acquired as individual gradient echoes I_FID、I_STEAndby dephasing gradient G_m2To determine the acquisition order. Gradient G by switching_m1、G_m(from a lower phase diagram Φ)_GrShown) to control the timing of the three gradient echoes. Upper phase diagram phi_offrThe effect of static heterogeneity, and thus on the spectral coding of the signal, is illustrated.

Immediately after the stimulated echo preparation period 21, the longitudinal nuclear magnetization is given by the following formula:

M_z,FID＝cos²(α)·M₀

wherein M is_z,FIDRefers to unprepared (i.e., in-phase) longitudinal magnetization, and M_z,STEAndrefers to the longitudinal magnetization contribution of the two mirrored stimulated echo preparations (i.e. out of phase). The transverse magnetization components (i.e. FID, FID from the first RF pulse a and the spin echo from the second RF pulse a) are destroyed by the strong fragmentation gradient and will not be considered further. Thus, the read RF pulses β of the imaging sequence generate three transverse signal contributions:

I_FID＝S·C(t)sin(β)M_z,FID

I_STE＝S·C(t-T_S)sin(β)M_z,STE

where S denotes a complex system constant including, for example, transmit and receive coil sensitivities for a given voxel, and β is the nominal flip angle of the read RF pulse. Likewise, C describes the signal dephasing due to PRF shift for a given voxel:

where ρ and ω refer to proton density and temperature induced frequency shift, and the integral describes the sum over a given voxel.

For the purpose of temperature mapping according to the invention, it is possible in this embodiment to derive from the conjugated stimulated echo signalStimulated echo signal with complex conjugationThe product of:

wherein the effective PRF shift encodes time t_{PRF, effective}Comprises the following steps:

a temperature map can be derived from the PRF method on this basis by using the above formula for Δ T.

In these calculations the pseudo phase shift from the transmit/receive chain of the MR device used is cancelled out. Advantageously, the STE signal and the STE^*The signals originate from the same origin, with the same amplitude but different phases. Based only on the STE signal and the STE^*The phase difference of the signals to derive temperature information. Therefore, the FID signal is no longer required as a reference signal as in the embodiment shown in fig. 2. However, FID signals acquired at short echo times may still be used for reconstructing the anatomical image and/or as a reference for motion detection.

The problem of fat contamination of PRF displacement may be solved in the above embodiments of the invention by applying a fat saturation preparation pulse prior to the preparation period 21. Alternatively, the stimulated echo sequence itself may be made spectrally selective only to the encoded water signal. This can be addressed, for example, by replacing one (preferably the second) of the preparation RF pulses with spectrally selective RF pulses to apply RF energy only to the water species. Both the preparation RF pulse and the RF pulse of the acquisition period 22 (which is not so efficient) can be made to have chemical shift selectivity to suppress fat signal contributions.

Despite the STE signal I_STERefocused as stimulated echo, but STE^*SignalFurther dephasing and are therefore typically discarded in conventional stimulated echo experiments. However, the imaging sequence shown in fig. 3 employs adapted switched magnetic field gradients to acquire all three signal contributions as individual gradient echoes at a deliberately chosen echo time. Gradient G of phase-losing device by stimulated echo_m2To determine the acquisition order (STE-FID-STE)^*Or STE^*FID-STE). The gradient echo time (i.e., the time at the top of the gradient echo) may be independently selected within common sequence timing constraints derived from, for example, acquisition bandwidth or RF and gradient power limitations to obtain the desired spectral encoding for the different echoes. For example, chemical shift effects can be encoded into two different STE echo signals and STE^*An echo signal. Thus, a Two-point Dixon method with flexible echo times (see "Dual-echo Dixon imaging with flexible choice of echo times" by Egger et al (MRM 2011, Vol. 65, pp. 96-107) and a Two-point Dixon method with flexible echo times "by Berglund et al (MRM 2011, pp. 2011Volume 65, page 994-1004)) can be applied in accordance with STE)^*Signal and STE signals to separate water and fat signals. Similar to conventional two-point Dixon, the substantially in-phase/anti-phase encoding time will preferably be chosen to optimize the stability of the method. However, in contrast to conventional Dixon sequences, no change in gradient polarity is required, which results in shorter sequences and reduces the phase error associated with odd/even eddy currents. After separation of the water contribution from the fat contribution, only the STE signals and STEs acquired from the water spin pairs are taken as a function of^*The signal contribution of the signal is used to derive a temperature map.