Dynamic scan-plane tracking using MR position monitoring

An MR-based method for tracking subject motion is presented. The technique identifies subject motion from the three-dimensional positions of three small samples attached to the subject in a fixed, triangular configuration. The updated positions of these samples relative to their initial positions determine a rigid body transformation. Applied to the MRI scan prescription via adaptive feedback controls, this transformation yields an updated MRI scan plane that tracks the prescribed imaging section as the subject moves. The scan-plane tracking procedure is demonstrated experimentally for two-dimensional imaging of a standard imaging phantom and the head of a human subject. Sets of images were acquired sequentially, with motion (translations and/or rotations) introduced between image frames. The scan-plane tracking system provides wall registered image slices of the same section, adaptively compensating for the subject motion.