Time-clustered cardio-respiratory encoder and method for clustering cardio-respiratory signals

摘要

A method and encoding system for retrospectively clustering NMR cardiac measurement profiles in cardio-respiratory phase planes, which method and system reduce cardio-vascular and respiratory flow motion image artifacts and provide quantitative characterizations of cardiac structure/function both with and without imaging. Profiles are clustered which are in the same relative positions in the cardiac cycles during which they were acquired, rather than in accordance with their positions relative to trigger pulses defining initiation of each cardiac cycle. This avoids artifacts due to irregular variations in the period of successive cardiac cycles.