A method is disclosed for determining an attenuation map for use in
positron emission tomography and for the use of homogeneity information
relating to the magnetic resonance magnetic field, in particular for the
purpose of determining shim settings, within the scope of a single
magnetic resonance image recording. In at least one embodiment of the
method, a first and a second image data record are firstly recorded with
a three-dimensional gradient echo sequence during a first and a second
echo time, respectively, with the phase difference between the water and
the fat signal amounting to zero during the first echo time and amounting
to 180 degrees during the second echo time. The attenuation map is
determined from fat/water ratios obtained from the image data records by
way of a Dixon technology, in particular a 2-point Dixon technology. In
at least one embodiment, all voxels with a signal intensity below a first
threshold value are excluded at least for the second image data record by
using a mask and only the non excluded voxels of the first and second
image data record are taken into consideration in order to determine the
homogeneity information from the phase differences of adjacent voxels.