Encoding of Inductively Measured k-Space Trajectories in MR Raw Data

For reconstruction of MRI from raw data, the k-space trajectory is needed. We propose to measure this simultaneously with the MRI signal using novel hardware and the scanner itself. As a first step, we demonstrate real-time processing of a gradient pickup coil voltage during scanning, modulation of this signal to a frequency within the MR acquisition bandwidth, and signal extraction from MR raw data. This principle is applied to measure k-space trajectories inductively and perform image reconstruction based on this. The resulting images have comparable quality to images reconstructed using nominal k-space trajectories. The method can potentially provide generic image reconstruction with limited hardware, even for challenging and dynamically updated gradient schemes.