Prospective real-time head motion correction using inductively coupled wireless NMR probes

Area of Science:

• Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
• Biomedical Engineering
• Medical Physics

Background:

• Head motion is a primary cause of artifacts and reduced data quality in MRI.
• Accurate motion correction is crucial for high-resolution and reliable MRI diagnostics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and demonstrate a novel technique for prospective, real-time estimation and correction of 6 degrees of freedom (6DOF) rigid body head motion.
• To utilize inductively coupled wireless nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) probe markers for motion tracking.

Main Methods:

• Three wireless NMR probes were used as fiducials on the subject's head, coupled with the scanner's RF system.
• A 12-ms linear navigator module, interleaved with the imaging sequence, estimated head position in real-time.
• A novel algorithm enabled marker position identification without dedicated receive channels, allowing scan geometry updates for motion compensation.

Main Results:

• Significant improvements in MRI image quality were observed in both phantom and human volunteer studies.
• The technique effectively compensated for head motion under various experimental conditions.
• High-resolution 2D and 3D gradient recalled echo experiments demonstrated the efficacy of the motion correction.

Conclusions:

• A novel real-time 6DOF head motion correction technique utilizing wireless NMR probes was successfully demonstrated.
• This method is effective for high-resolution imaging at 7 Tesla, addressing a critical challenge in MRI.
• The findings pave the way for more robust and artifact-free MRI acquisition in clinical and research settings.