Acquisition and Processing Techniques for Image-Based Prospective Motion Correction in Magnetic Resonance Imaging

The sensitivity to subject motion is one of the major reasons of image quality degradation in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Subjects need to be very calm to maintain the relationship between spatial image information and subject anatomy throughout the scan. In case of moving subjects, prospective motion correction can regain this relationship by constantly adapting the image slice positioning to follow the subject in real time. This requires continuous estimates of the current motion state, which is complicated for a variety of MRI applications. In this dissertation, image-based prospective motion correction techniques are developed to increase the image quality as well as quantitative imaging parameters in diffusion-weighted imaging, high-resolution 2D imaging and functional MRI.