A 4-CHANNEL TIME-DOMAIN MULTIPLEXER - A COST-EFFECTIVE ALTERNATIVE TOMULTIPLE RECEIVERS

The concept of simultaneous image acquisition as originally conceived by Hyde has been implemented by Roemer et al. using a multiple receive r system. This article describes an alternative technique that uses ti me domain multiplexing (TDM) to acquire simultaneous images using a si ngle receiver channel. This method requires few modifications to the e xisting receiver and has been shown to be equivalent to a true four ch annel receiver in most applications. The multiplexing technique was im plemented and tested on a standard commercial scanner that has also be en equipped with a four channel receiver. Signal-to noise results demo nstrate that four independent images can be multiplexed through a sing le receiver channel with no degradation in image quality. Additionally , spine images that were obtained from a normal volunteer with both a multiplexed single channel receiver and a true four channel receiver s ystem are presented.