Jolle Karine Barral1, Juan M Santos2,
Edward J Damrose3, Nancy J. Fischbein3,4, Dwight G.
Nishimura5
1Bioengineering, Stanford
University, Stanford, CA, United States; 2Heart Vista, Inc., Los Altos,
CA, United States; 3Otolaryngology, Stanford University, Stanford,
CA, United States; 4Radiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA,
United States; 5Electrical Engineering, Stanford University,
Stanford, CA, United States
Motion is the main limitation to in vivo, high-resolution larynx MR imaging. A new real-time motion-compensation algorithm is introduced, which extends the Diminishing Variance Algorithm (DVA) to improve its robustness. Navigator data are processed in real time to compute rigid-body motion, and projections are corrected using phase modulation in k-space. Upon automatic feedback, the system immediately reacquires the data most heavily corrupted by non-rigid motion, i.e., the data whose corresponding projections could not be properly corrected using phase modulation. Larynx imaging was performed on healthy volunteers, and substantial reduction of motion artifacts caused by bulk shift, swallowing, and coughing was achieved.