| abstract |
The invention includes a device for detection of respiratory motion of a subject during acquisition of an magnetic resonance image that includes a lever having a proximal and a distal end, a counterweight on the proximal end of the lever, a fulcrum, a pickup coil attached to the distal end of the lever, and a MRI machine that has a radio frequency resonator, a gradient coil, and a magnetic field, wherein the lever, fulcrum, counterweight, and pickup coil are positioned so that the lever moves as the subject breathes, the pickup coil is also positioned so that it does not cause artifacts in the MRI image, and the device as a whole generates an electrical signal that can be used to detect and monitor the respiratory motion of the subject. The invention also includes a device for respiratory gating of a magnetic resonance imaging experiment including a lever having a proximal and a distal end, a counterweight on the proximal end of the lever, a fulcrum, a pickup coil attached to the distal end of the lever, and a MRI machine that has a radio frequency resonator, a gradient coil, and a magnetic field, wherein the lever, fulcrum, counterweight, and pickup coil are positioned so that the lever moves as the subject breathes, the pickup coil is also positioned so that it does not cause artifacts in the MRI image, and the device as a whole generates an electrical signal that can be used to detect and monitor the respiratory motion of the subject and the threshold detector is used to trigger the acquisition of the individual scans of the magnetic resonance image. |