RESPIRATORY VOLUME/FLOW GATING, MONITORING, AND SPIROMETRY SYSTEM FOR MRI
A respiratory volume/flow monitoring system, including a pneumotach that measures micromovements of a membrane in a MRI environment, gates (triggers) a MRI machine to start image acquisition at specific lung volumes or airflow rates during the breathing cycle or other breathing maneuvers of a patient. The system provides breathing motion artifact suppression for any imaging test susceptible to breathing motion artifact, allows respiratory monitoring of the subject during an MRI procedure, and provides the capability to perform spirometric testing while the subject is in the MRI environment. The preferred embodiments of this invention are also applicable for patients undergoing CT imaging or any other imaging modality that allows external triggering.