Overview
 

With the advent of high-speed gradients, coil arrays, novel  pulse sequence designs and reconstruction techniques, modern MR  systems are capable of interactively acquiring and reconstructing  images in real-time, which has led to major advances in cardiac  imaging, imaging during interventions, and imaging of dynamic  processes such as joint motion and functional activation.  Real-time  imaging has unique needs in terms of system infrastructure, pulse  sequence design, reconstruction, and careful examination of  applications.  The planned sessions will cover the latest clinical and  research applications of real-time MRI, along with the latest  technical developments, including new system infrastructures, contrast mechanisms, artifact avoidance and correction, and methods for  extending the limits of spatial resolution, temporal resolution and  SNR.  This format naturally includes educational presentations and presentations describing the current state of the art.  In addition, we will have a session showcasing hot topics  and future trends.  Invited presenters will include young scientists  and scientists from inside and outside North America.  This will  be the first multi-vendor workshop on real-time MRI.

In this workshop, “real-time” MRI is defined as having an end- to-end system latency of less than 1 second (which includes  acquisition, reconstruction, and display).
 

Educational Objectives

Upon completion of this workshop, attendees should be able to:

• Articulate the general hardware and software infrastructure requirements for real-time interactive magnetic resonance imaging;

• Describe various pulse sequences that are used for rapid dynamic imaging, and identify their weaknesses;

• Explain methods for temporal acceleration, including those based on parallel acquisition, and the use of temporal patterns;

• Describe the diagnostic utility of real-time imaging in cardiac, neurologic, and fetal applications;

• Describe the utility of real-time MRI in cardiovascular, abdominal, and neurologic interventions; and

• Appraise and evaluate the capabilities of current “state-of-the-art” real-time MR imaging systems.

Audience Description

This workshop is designed for physicians and physicists/engineers who are specializing in rapid dynamic MRI and its applications.  They may be faculty, clinical or research fellows, residents, or other doctoral trainees, with an interest in real-time interactive MRI, and with the goal of furthering what is technically feasible and how it can be clinically applied.  It will also be of significant value to researchers at companies developing high-performance MRI systems and accessories.