A superconducting magnet apparatus includes a first superconducting coil centered around an axis extending in a direction intersecting with a vertical direction and a refrigerant circulation circuit through which refrigerant circulates. The refrigerant circulation circuit includes a first cooling pipe path in thermal contact with the first superconducting coil, an upper pipe path arranged above the first cooling pipe path, a lower pipe path arranged below the first cooling pipe path, and a connection pipe path that connects the upper pipe path and the lower pipe path to each other. The first cooling pipe path includes a first storage portion where refrigerant is stored.

A cryostat includes a cryogenic refrigerator arranged to cool the interior of a cryogen vessel within the cryostat, the cryogenic refrigerator being arranged inside a refrigerator sock. A pipe is controlled by a passive temperature-sensitive valve to selectively provide a path for cryogen gas flow through the refrigerator sock. The passive temperature-sensitive valve is controlled according to a temperature of the cryogen gas supplied from the refrigerator sock to the passive temperature-sensitive valve.

Systems and methods for rapidly ramping the magnetic field of a superconducting magnet, such as a superconducting magnet adapted for use in a magnetic resonance imaging system, are provided. The magnetic field can be rapidly ramped up or down by changing the current density in the superconducting magnet while monitoring and controlling the superconducting magnet's temperature to remain below a transition temperature. A superconducting switch is used to connect the superconducting magnet and a power supply in a connected circuit. The current generated by the power supply is then adjusted to increase or decrease the current density in the superconducting magnet to respectively ramp up or ramp down the magnetic field strength in a controlled manner. The ramp rate at which the magnetic field strength is changed is determined and optimized based on the operating parameters of the superconducting magnet and the current being generated by the power supply.

According to some aspects, a laminate panel is provided. The laminate panel comprises at least one laminate layer including at least one non-conductive layer and at least one conductive layer patterned to form at least a portion of a B.sub.0 coil configured to contribute to a B.sub.0 field suitable for use in low-field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

The MRI apparatus includes a main magnet forming a static magnetic field in a bore, and a gradient coil assembly which forms a magnetic field gradient in the static magnetic field and includes a plurality of shim trays arranged therein at a predefined interval and at least one first shim token provided between the shim trays.

An apparatus (200) includes: a cryostat (214) containing a volume of cryogenic fluid; one or more superconducting coils (202) within the cryostat; a sealed cooling system (204) within the cryostat and configured to maintain the one or more superconducting coils n a persistent state; and a second cooling system (210) having a first portion in contact with the sealed cooling system within the cryostat, a second portion extending outside of the cryostat.

A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system having a resistive, solenoidal electromagnet for whole-body MRI may include ferromagnetic material within an envelope of the electromagnet. The system can be configured to have a field strength of at least 0.05 Tesla and its main electromagnetic field can be generated by layers of conductors instead of bundles. Certain electromagnet designs may be fabricated using non-metallic formers, such as fiberglass, and can be constructed to form a rigid object with the layers of conductors by fixing all together with an epoxy. The electromagnet may be configured to have two separated halves, which may be held apart by a fixation structure such as carbon fiber. The power supply for certain electromagnets herein may have current fluctuations, at frequencies of 180 Hz or above, of at least one part per ten thousand without requiring an additional current filter.

A heat regenerating material particle according to an embodiment includes a plurality of heat regenerating substance particles having a maximum volume specific heat value of 0.3 J/cm.sup.3.Math.K or more at a temperature of 20 K or lower, and a binder bonding the heat regenerating substance particles, the binder containing water insoluble resin. The heat regenerating material particle has a particle diameter of 500 μm or less.

A module for use in a magnetic resonance apparatus, a system, and a method for predicting a potential failure of a module are provided. The module includes at least one sensor configured to detect values of at least one module parameter of the module. The module parameter, such as detected values thereof, is suitable for predicting a potential failure of the module on the basis thereof.

Cryostat systems for magnetic resonance imaging system are provided. The cryostat system may include a tank containing a cavity to accommodate a cooling medium and a superconducting coil. The system may also include a cold head assembly configured to cool the cooling medium to maintain the superconducting coil in a superconducting state. The cold head assembly may be mounted on the tank. The cold assembly may include at least a first cold head and a second cold head. The second cold head may include a taper shape with a first end surface close to the first cold head and a second end surface away from the first cold head. A diameter of the first circular end is greater than a diameter of the second circular end.