An MR-Compatible Stage for Respiratory Motion Emulation

Abstract We present the development of a system that physically emulates respiratory motion for phantoms under Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). The system is designed to be inherently MR-compatible—with no ferrous materials or electromagnetic actuators present in the exam room—and uses hydrostatic actuators to control motion of the phantom. MR-compatibility of the system is verified through both signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and imaging distortion tests, and several control strategies are then implemented to achieve tracking of prerecorded respiratory motion profiles obtained from a human subject.