Simultaneous multiple volume (SMV) acquisition algorithm for real-time navigator gating.

Navigator gating techniques can effectively reduce motion effects in MRI by accepting data only when the object is in a small range of positions at the cost of significantly prolonging scan time. A simultaneous multiple volume (SMV) algorithm is reported here that can substantially increase the scan efficiency while maintaining the effectiveness of motion suppression. This is achieved by acquiring different image volumes at different motion states. Initial experiments demonstrate that SMV can significantly increase the scan efficiency of navigator MRI.