Magnetic resonance current density imaging using one component of magnetic flux density

Current density distribution generated inside a volume conductor by externally applied currents can be calculated by using spatial distribution of its magnetic flux density, . The imaging modality used to reconstruct images of the current density distribution is known as magnetic resonance current density imaging (MRCDI). In MRCDI, spatial distribution of the current-induced magnetic flux density is measured on a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) platform. Calculation of current density distribution from magnetic flux density measurements requires all three components of . As only the component of which is in parallel with the main field of the MRI system can be measured, rotation of the subject is necessary to be able to acquire all three components of for a given current injection pattern. Rotating the subject inside the magnet is not trivial even for small-sized objects and remains as a strong limitation to clinical applicability of the technique. In this study, a novel MRCDI reconstruction algorithm using only one component of is proposed to eliminate the need for subject rotation. Reconstruction performance of the proposed algorithm is evaluated on numerical and experimental models. Images obtained by the proposed and the conventional MRCDI algorithms, which utilizes three components of , are compared.