Description
This thesis will discuss a novel implementation of the Beat Pilot Tone (BPT), a recent technique for measuring the motion of patients during an MRI scan. A pair of pure microwave RF tones generated by an external RF tone generator are transmitted by an antenna inside the bore. The signal is picked up by MRI coils within the bore, and intermodulation at the preamps brings the signal to within the MRI bandwidth to be digitized by the receiver chain. Subject motion modulates the BPT signal which enables motion detection and estimation. The implementation discussed in this thesis aims to connect an external signal generator seamlessly with a GE 3T MRI scanner to automatically collect motion data when requested, allowing technologists to gather motion data without having to calculate appropriate parameters and execute commands on an external device. This is a first step towards using BPT for motion detection and correction in a clinical setting, where it could potentially be used to improve image quality or eliminate breath-holds for many types of MRI pulse sequences.