The present disclosure relates to a coil assembly of an MRI device. The MRI device may be configured to perform an MR scan on a subject. The coil assembly may include one or more coil units, a substrate, and a sensor mounted within or on the substrate. The one or more coil units may be configured to receive an MR signal from the subject during the MR scan. The substrate may be configured to position the one or more coil units during the MR scan. The one or more coil units may be mounted within or on the substrate. The sensor may be configured to detect a motion signal relating to a physiological motion of the subject before or during the MR scan.

A permittivity apparatus that includes a permittivity material is received. The permittivity material includes one or more types of high permittivity materials. The permittivity apparatus is configured to be placed near or into a region of interest to be imaged. The permittivity apparatus is placed near or into the region of interest such that placing the permittivity apparatus near or into the region of interest changes a local stored electromagnetic energy distribution around or inside the region of interest. MRI images including the region of interest are then acquired. An MRI system includes radiofrequency coils and a permittivity apparatus that includes one or more types of high permittivity materials. The permittivity apparatus is configured to be placed near or into a region of interest to be imaged.

The present invention relates to a medical apparatus which includes a motion mechanism which has at least one degree of freedom, an actuator configured to drive the motion mechanism and a control unit configured to control the actuator, and which operates in a magnetic field environment of an MRI, the medical apparatus including: a data storage unit in which data related to magnetic susceptibility of the actuator is stored; a calculating unit configured to calculate information related to an influence which the actuator exerts upon the magnetic field environment by calculation based on the magnetic susceptibility; and a communication unit configured to output the information to the MRI. An influence which an apparatus which operates in a strong magnetic field environment exerts upon an MR image can be reduced.

The present invention relates to a medical apparatus which includes a motion mechanism which has at least one degree of freedom, an actuator configured to drive the motion mechanism and a control unit configured to control the actuator, and which operates in a magnetic field environment of an MRI, the medical apparatus including: a data storage unit in which data related to magnetic susceptibility of the actuator is stored; a calculating unit configured to calculate information related to an influence which the actuator exerts upon the magnetic field environment by calculation based on the magnetic susceptibility; and a communication unit configured to output the information to the MRI. An influence which an apparatus which operates in a strong magnetic field environment exerts upon an MR image can be reduced.

A method for hyperpolarizing spins includes the following steps: a) placing a sample containing spins (s) in a stationary magnetic field; b) magnetically coupling the sample to an electromagnetic resonator having a resonance frequency ω.sub.0 equal to the Larmor frequency of the spins in the stationary magnetic field, such that the coupling with the resonator dominates the relaxation dynamics of the spins; and c) reducing the effective temperature of the electromagnetic field inside the electromagnetic resonator below its physical temperature and that of the sample; whereby the polarization of the spins of the sample is established at a value higher than its thermal equilibrium value. An apparatus for implementing such a method is also provided.

A MRI-guided stereotactic surgery method including the following steps: assigning coordinates of a surgery target point of a surgery cannula and an insertion direction of the surgery cannula; performing coordinate transformation to transform the coordinates of the surgery target point into an insertion position of the surgery target point; substituting the insertion position and the insertion direction into an inverse kinematics model to obtain five parameters respectively corresponding to five degrees of freedom of a MRI-compatible stereotactic surgery device; controlling the MRI-compatible stereotactic surgery device according to the parameters to start a stereotactic surgery procedure, thereby inserting the surgery cannula; obtaining an actual cannula position according to a magnetic resonance (MR) image; comparing the actual cannula position with the surgery target point to obtain an actual position vector; and withdrawing the surgery cannula to finish the stereotactic surgery procedure when the actual position vector is acceptable.

Deoxyhemoglobin in a subject may be modulated to act as a contrast agent for use in magnetic resonance imaging. Sequential gas delivery may be applied to adjust the level of deoxyhemoglobin in the subject. A suitable magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) pulse sequence that is sensitive to magnetic field inhomogeneities, such as a blood-oxygen-level dependent (BOLD) sequence, may be used to detect deoxyhemoglobin as a contrast agent.

A magnetic resonance examination system with an examination zone (11) and comprising a camera (21) and non-metallic mirror (22), in particular within the examination zone (11), arranging an optical pathway (23) between a portion of the examination zone (11), via the non-metallic mirror (22), and the camera (21). The camera can obtain image information from that portion even if the direct line of sight (28) is blocked. The non-metallic mirror is a dielectric mirror having a macroscopically grated base.

In an embodiment, a radio frequency head coil for a magnetic resonance imaging system is provided. The radio frequency head coil includes a body defining an imaging cavity for receiving a head of a patient, and one or more bracket shells disposed within the body. At least one or more coil elements operative to receive a magnetic resonance signal emitted from the patient are disposed on the bracket shells.

A method of enhancing the nuclear spin polarization of target molecules (10) uses a hyperpolarized source material (12) that is co-confined with the target molecules (10) in a porous molecular matrix (20). The matrix (20) may be a D4R-polysiloxane copolymer such as polyoligosiloxysilicone number two (PSS-2) that has recesses of an appropriate diameter. A source material (12), such as parahydrogen, is transferred to the matrix (20) together with the target molecules (10), and an external pressure is applied to force them into the recesses of the matrix (20). The nano-confinement of the source material (12) and target molecules (10) together enables or enhances a transfer of spin polarization from the source material (12) to the target molecules (10). When the target molecules (10) are removed from the matrix (20), the enhanced spin polarization greatly enhances the signal strength of the target molecules (10) in any subsequent magnetic resonance measurement.