Non-contact respiratory triggering for clinical MRI using frequency modulated continuous wave radar

Abdominal MRI is susceptible to respiratory motion artifacts. The existing clinical solution is using breathing belt to track the movement of the abdomen and trigger MRI acquisition during the end-expiration phase. Attaching respiratory belt to patients often slows down clinical workflow and affects patient comfort especially for those with surgical wounds and respiratory disorders. Herein we, for the first, propose a novel MRI compatible frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) radar to track respiratory motion within MRI bore in a non-contact fashion. The electromagnetic wave from FMCW radar can penetrate clothing and MRI RF coils to achieve continuous monitoring of patient’s vital signs. The system consists of a front-end FMCW radar sensor and a FPGA based power management/communication board that interface with a clinical MRI scanner. This design fully integrates the FMCW radar signal with MRI control console to enable real time respiratory triggered MRI acquisition. Consistent respiratory waveform was validated by comparing FMCW signal with traditional breathing belt measurement. Superior image quality from clinical MRI pulse sequence was achieved using the developed system in healthy volunteers.