A Multistage Parallel Magnetic Resonance Image Reconstruction Method

The length of scan time is a critical issue in Magnetic Resonance Imaging(MRI). Parallel MRI techniques have recently been introduced to shorten the scanning time by using multiple receiver coils to acquire the MR signal. As a result, the imaging process is accelerated several times compared to conventional non-accelerated MRI. In this paper, we provide a new reconstruction method for parallel MRI that improves the resultant image quality. Our algorithm involves the combination of two popular and commercially utilised parallel MRI reconstruction techniques, SENSE and GRAPPA. These two methods are complementary to each other, and are traditionally implemented in different imaging conditions. Our proposed method, called the SG reconstruction method, takes advantage of the distinct merits of both SENSE and GRAPPA to improve the image reconstruction quality. We demonstrate the superiority of the SG algorithm through comparison to SENSE and GRAPPA applied to high-field, experimental MRI data.