The present invention pertains to magnetic resonance imaging, notably of separate body parts with open space between them. A bridge member containing MR responsive material is provided in the open space to establish a correspondence between the body parts. The MR responsive material generates magnetic resonance signals in response the RF excitation, so that between the separate body parts via the bridge member magnetic resonance signal are obtained from positions between which there is at most a limited spatial variation of the main magnetic field, so that phase ambiguities between the signals from these positions are avoided. Thus chemical shift separation, notably water-fat separation though a region-of-interest containing several (both) body parts may rely on a smoothness condition imposed on the spatial distribution of the main magnetic field. This avoids artefacts, such as water-fat swaps when separating water and fat contributions in the reconstructed magnetic resonance image.

A metamaterial (MTM) slab for a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) system passively interacts with a field generated by a transmit device to improve homogeneity of the field, specific absorption rate, and/or strength of the field. The MTM slab may also be connected to RF receive circuitry at one or more ports to act as a receiver for the MRI. The MTM slab may comprise a first layer generally defining a surface and a second layer offset from the surface generally defined by the first layer, the first layer and the second layer interacting to form a 2D transmission line supporting radio frequency (RF) current along the surface in a first direction and in a second direction transverse to the first direction, the first layer and the second layer being connected via linking capacitors.

A metamaterial (MTM) slab for a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) system passively interacts with a field generated by a transmit device to improve homogeneity of the field, specific absorption rate, and/or strength of the field. The MTM slab may also be connected to RF receive circuitry at one or more ports to act as a receiver for the MRI. The MTM slab may comprise a first layer generally defining a surface and a second layer offset from the surface generally defined by the first layer, the first layer and the second layer interacting to form a 2D transmission line supporting radio frequency (RF) current along the surface in a first direction and in a second direction transverse to the first direction, the first layer and the second layer being connected via linking capacitors.

To suppress eddy current generation by a gradient magnetic field while an RF shield has a function of reducing magnetic coupling of an RF coil with a gradient magnetic coil, the RF shield must be formed of a conductive material of a tiled or slitted strip-shaped thin plate. On the other hand, cooling must be performed to suppress temperature rise due to heat generation by the eddy current. Furthermore, to enlarge an opening through which a patient is inserted, the gradient magnetic coil, the RF coil, and the RF shield, which are located in a static field magnet and have roughly concentrically cylindrical shapes, are required to be reduced in thickness. To solve the above problem, the present invention provides a structure, where an RF shield, which is obtained by forming a tiled or slitted thin-plate conductive material into a sheet, is adhered or attached to an inner cylindrical surface of the gradient magnetic coil, where the RF shield is configured to be adhered or attached to a region including the vicinity of each of turn centers of an X-gradient magnetic coil pattern and a Y-gradient magnetic coil pattern, or is adhered or attached along a pattern on or a slit in the thin plate conductive material of the RF shield.

To suppress eddy current generation by a gradient magnetic field while an RF shield has a function of reducing magnetic coupling of an RF coil with a gradient magnetic coil, the RF shield must be formed of a conductive material of a tiled or slitted strip-shaped thin plate. On the other hand, cooling must be performed to suppress temperature rise due to heat generation by the eddy current. Furthermore, to enlarge an opening through which a patient is inserted, the gradient magnetic coil, the RF coil, and the RF shield, which are located in a static field magnet and have roughly concentrically cylindrical shapes, are required to be reduced in thickness. To solve the above problem, the present invention provides a structure, where an RF shield, which is obtained by forming a tiled or slitted thin-plate conductive material into a sheet, is adhered or attached to an inner cylindrical surface of the gradient magnetic coil, where the RF shield is configured to be adhered or attached to a region including the vicinity of each of turn centers of an X-gradient magnetic coil pattern and a Y-gradient magnetic coil pattern, or is adhered or attached along a pattern on or a slit in the thin plate conductive material of the RF shield.

An NMR apparatus having a magnet coil system for generating a homogeneous magnetic field comprises a superconducting magnet arranged within a vacuum vessel in the cold region of a cryostat, and a shim system containing shim elements arranged outside the vacuum vessel. The superconducting magnet has a first mechanical connection point to the vacuum vessel via a magnet suspension, and the shim system has a second mechanical connection point to the vacuum vessel via a positioning element. On at least one portion of a path along the vacuum vessel from the first connection point to the second connection point and/or on at least one portion of a path along the positioning element from the second connection point to the shim system, a regulating element for regulating thermally caused changes in length is arranged on the relevant path. Magnetic field homogeneity can thus be kept largely stable.

An NMR apparatus having a magnet coil system for generating a homogeneous magnetic field comprises a superconducting magnet arranged within a vacuum vessel in the cold region of a cryostat, and a shim system containing shim elements arranged outside the vacuum vessel. The superconducting magnet has a first mechanical connection point to the vacuum vessel via a magnet suspension, and the shim system has a second mechanical connection point to the vacuum vessel via a positioning element. On at least one portion of a path along the vacuum vessel from the first connection point to the second connection point and/or on at least one portion of a path along the positioning element from the second connection point to the shim system, a regulating element for regulating thermally caused changes in length is arranged on the relevant path. Magnetic field homogeneity can thus be kept largely stable.

A method for ascertaining a magnetic field of at least one magnetic coil unit of a magnetic resonance apparatus, a magnetic resonance apparatus, and a computer program product are provided. According to the method, the magnetic field is generated by the at least one magnetic coil unit. A plurality of magnetic field vectors are detected at different positions of the magnetic field by a magnetic field sensor unit, where each magnetic field vector of the plurality of magnetic field vectors describes a strength, such as a magnitude, and a direction of the magnetic field at the respective position. The magnetic field is ascertained. To ascertain the magnetic field based on the plurality of magnetic field vectors, a model of a vector field is ascertained.

In a magnetic resonance apparatus having a scanner that generates a basic magnetic field in an imaging volume, and an operating method to acquire data from an entirety of a recording volume, wherein the scanner has a global shim coil acting on the entire imaging volume, and a local shim coil acting, with the global shim coil, on a sub-volume containing a region of interest, a first adjustment volume is established that contains the recording volume. A smaller, second adjustment volume is established containing the region of interest, and at most, the sub-volume. Using a field map of the basic magnetic field that covers the first adjustment volume, shim currents are respectively identified for the global shim unit, for homogenizing the first adjustment volume, and for the local shim unit, for homogenizing the second adjustment volume, accounting for the effect of the first shim currents on the second adjustment volume.

In a magnetic resonance apparatus having a scanner that generates a basic magnetic field in an imaging volume, and an operating method to acquire data from an entirety of a recording volume, wherein the scanner has a global shim coil acting on the entire imaging volume, and a local shim coil acting, with the global shim coil, on a sub-volume containing a region of interest, a first adjustment volume is established that contains the recording volume. A smaller, second adjustment volume is established containing the region of interest, and at most, the sub-volume. Using a field map of the basic magnetic field that covers the first adjustment volume, shim currents are respectively identified for the global shim unit, for homogenizing the first adjustment volume, and for the local shim unit, for homogenizing the second adjustment volume, accounting for the effect of the first shim currents on the second adjustment volume.