Real Time Interactive Volumetric Magnetic Resonance Imaging

The invention makes possible "live" volume renderings from a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanner. Previously, volume renderings from MRI data could only be generated off-line, some time after the image data was collected. In one embodiment of the invention, the time between data collection and volume rendering update (the latency) is approximately one third of a second at a frame rate of approximately 10 updates per second. User interaction with the rendering, such as rotation and cut planes, is allowed during imaging. This gives a caregiver real-time three-dimensional feedback while manipulating devices within a patient's body. The invention may be of benefit to several types of image-guided interventional procedures, including cardiac catheterization, tumor removal, ablation or biopsies.