REAL-TIME RECONSTRUCTION AND HIGH-SPEED PROCESSING IN FUNCTIONAL MR-IMAGING

Access to fully processed activation maps in near real time during a f unctional MR examination enables run-to-run assessment of results. Thi s is particularly useful in clinical studies, since the results of the functional MR examination can be ascertained before the patient leave s the MR suite, permitting interactive tailoring of the functional MR study. We describe how a real-time MR system can be customized to comp lete the following tasks in less than 3 minutes: obtain an 81-second a cquisition of a multisection functional MR imaging time series using s ingle-shot echo-planar imaging, perform image reconstruction, extract functional MR activation maps using cross-correlation and thresholding , and superimpose activation maps on previously acquired T1-weighted a natomic images.