Nonlinear amplitude compression in magnetic resonance imaging: quantization noise reduction and data memory saving

Dynamic range improvement in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) by nonlinear amplitude compression is proposed. Quantization noise reduction by a factor of 10 to 20 is confirmed by a numerical simulation, provided an appropriate nonlinear transform is chosen. The piecewise-linear transform is the best nonlinear transform studied so far. Implementing amplitude compression requires no additional hardware in a usual MRI system if the low spatial frequency lines of the magnetic resonance (MR) signal are selectively prescanned through an attenuator. The method will be particularly effective in 3-D imaging of large objects. MR angiography, and imaging of solids.<
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