A multi-purpose open-source triggering platform for magnetic resonance.

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging Technology
• Biomedical Engineering
• Open-Source Hardware Development

Background:

• Magnetic Resonance (MR) imaging often requires synchronization with physiological cycles (cardiac, respiratory).
• Existing commercial trigger equipment is limited, especially for non-standard or experimental physiological inputs.
• A need exists for flexible, adaptable triggering solutions in advanced MR applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and describe a versatile, open-source trigger platform for MR systems.
• To enable synchronization with diverse and experimental physiological inputs.
• To provide a cost-effective and customizable triggering solution for MR research.

Main Methods:

• Developed a multi-purpose trigger platform centered around an Arduino Due microcontroller.
• The system samples analogue inputs, digitally processes data to determine trigger events.
• Utilized a Bluetooth dongle for wireless monitoring and control; demonstrated acoustic cardiac triggering using a stethoscope and microphone.

Main Results:

• The platform successfully generated reliable triggers for MR scanning (>99% accuracy).
• Achieved a low average variation of 8 ms between precise trigger points.
• Successfully acquired retrospectively-triggered cardiac scans in ten volunteers using the acoustic cardiac trigger setup.

Conclusions:

• The open-source trigger platform offers a reliable and adaptable solution for MR scan synchronization.
• It effectively addresses the limitations of commercial equipment for experimental physiological triggering.
• The demonstrated acoustic cardiac triggering highlights the system's versatility and potential for various MR applications.