Improvement of spatial resolution in magnetic resonance imaging using quadratic phase modulation

In the present paper, we propose a new magnetic resonance fast scan technique using the phase-scrambling Fourier transform imaging (PSFT), in which the strategy of data acquisition is similar to that of the standard Fourier imaging technique. The Fourier transformed image in the PSFT has a phase modulation in which the local spatial frequency is increased as the position moves away from the center of the image. Therefore, the signal length of the PSFT signal can be expanded using the restraint that the reconstructed image is a real-value object in the super-resolution algorithm. Simulation and experimental studies using a 0.0187T MR scanner were performed for the new improving image resolution method. It was shown that the spatial resolution could be improved in proportion to the distance from the center of the image by the quadratic phase modulation function, irrespective of the amount of noise, and the maximum resolution improvement is 2.0 times, as compared to the standard imaging method.