MaRCoS, an open-source electronic control system for low-field MRI

Vlad Negnevitsky; Yolanda Vives-Gilabert; José M Algarín; Lincoln Craven-Brightman; Rubén Pellicer-Guridi; Thomas O'Reilly; Jason P Stockmann; Andrew Webb; Joseba Alonso; Benjamin Menküc

doi:10.1016/j.jmr.2023.107424

MaRCoS, an open-source electronic control system for low-field MRI

J Magn Reson. 2023 May:350:107424. doi: 10.1016/j.jmr.2023.107424. Epub 2023 Mar 21.

Affiliations

¹ Oxford Ionics Ltd, Oxford OX5 1PF, UK.
² Intelligent Data Analysis Laboratory, Department of Electronic Engineering, Universitat de València, Valencia, Spain.
³ MRILab, Institute for Molecular Imaging and Instrumentation (i3M), Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), Valencia, Spain.
⁴ Massachusetts General Hospital, A. A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Charlestown, MA, USA.
⁵ Asociación de Investigación MPC, Manuel de Lardizábal 5, Donostia-San Sebastián 20018, Spain.
⁶ Department of Radiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Albinusdreef 2, Leiden 2333, Netherlands.
⁷ University of Applied Sciences and Arts Dortmund, Sonnenstr. 96, Dortmund 44139, Germany. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 37001194
DOI: 10.1016/j.jmr.2023.107424

Abstract

Every magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) device requires an electronic control system that handles pulse sequences and signal detection and processing. Here we provide details on the architecture and performance of MaRCoS, a MAgnetic Resonance COntrol System developed by an open international community of low-field MRI researchers. MaRCoS is inexpensive and can handle cycle-accurate sequences without hard length limitations, rapid bursts of events, and arbitrary waveforms. It has also been readily adapted to meet the requirements of the various academic and private institutions participating in its development. We describe the MaRCoS hardware, firmware and software that enable all of the above, including a Python-based graphical user interface for pulse sequence implementation, data processing and image reconstruction.

Keywords: Low-field MRI; MRI; MRI control system; MRI sequence programming.