Patent classifications
G01R33/3403
MEDICAL DATA ACQUISITION
A system for medical data acquisition comprising a plurality of scanners and a plurality of infrastructure units to operate the scanners, wherein the system is designed to use at least one of the infrastructure units as a common infrastructure unit to operate at least two of the scanners. Also, a method to control this system.
Protective and immobilizing sleeves with sensors, and methods for reducing the effect of object movement during MRI scanning
A protective sleeve reduces electromagnetic energy propagation from the magnet bore of a magnetic resonance imaging device (MRD) to the surrounding environment and prevents electromagnetic energy in the surrounding environment from contaminating an MRI reading. The protective sleeve comprises a distal portion configured for insertion within the bore and a proximal portion attachable to the MRD aperture. The sleeve is configured for inserting a body part for insertion within the MRD's open magnet, with the imaged portion of the body part protruding from the distal end of sleeve into the MRD's volume of interest. The sleeve comprises, or is connected to, one or more sensors configured to detect movement, acceleration or dislocation of at least one portion or segment of the body part to be scanned.
Integrated single-sourced cooling of superconducting magnets and RF coils in nuclear magnetic resonance devices
A method and a system are disclosed for obtaining imaging data using a MRI system configured to provide accurate images with high Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) using superconducting magnets with field strengths in the range of 0.5 Tesla (T) to 3 T. The MRI includes a scanning bore deployed within a Cryogen-Free (CF) conduction-cooled superconducting magnet. The CF may have two stages, in which one stage cools a radiation shield down to a mid-level temperature, such as 35-80 degrees Kelvin (K), and the second stage cools the cold-mass further down to about 3-6 degrees K. The two-stage CF cryocooloer is used to cool target bodies of the superconducting magnet system and the receiving RF coil to create a higher SNR relative to when RF coils are not cooled. Sapphire sheets or bars may be used to cool the RF coils because sapphire conducts heat but not electricity, reducing electrical noise.
Moveable MRI moving apparatus
Apparatus for imaging during surgical procedures includes an operating room for the surgical procedure and an MRI for obtaining images periodically through the surgical procedure by moving the magnet up to the table. The magnet wire is formed of a superconducting material such as magnesium di-boride or Niobium-Titanium which is cooled by a vacuum cryocooling system to superconductivity without use of liquid helium. The magnet weighs less than 1 to 2 tonne and has a floor area in the range 15 to 35 sq feet so that it can be carried on the floor by a support system having an air cushion covering the base area of the magnet having side skirts so as to spread the weight over the entire base area. The magnet remains in the room during surgery and is powered off to turn off the magnetic field when in the second position remote from the table.
Radiation therapy system and method
The present disclosure relates to a system and a method. The system may include a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) apparatus configured to acquire MRI data with respect to a region of interest (ROI) and a therapeutic apparatus configured to apply therapeutic radiation to at least one portion of the ROI. The MRI apparatus may include a plurality of main magnetic coils arranged coaxially along an axis, a plurality of shielding magnetic coils arranged coaxially along the axis, and a cryostat in which the plurality of main magnetic coils and the plurality of shielding magnetic coils are arranged.
RADIATION THERAPY SYSTEM AND METHOD
The present disclosure relates to a system and a method. The system may include a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) apparatus configured to acquire MRI data with respect to a region of interest (ROI) and a therapeutic apparatus configured to apply therapeutic radiation to at least one portion of the ROI. The MRI apparatus may include a plurality of main magnetic coils arranged coaxially along an axis, a plurality of shielding magnetic coils arranged coaxially along the axis, and a cryostat in which the plurality of main magnetic coils and the plurality of shielding magnetic coils are arranged.
Systems and methods for a radio frequency coil for MR imaging
Various methods and systems are provided for a flexible, lightweight, and low-cost radio frequency (RF) coil of a magnetic resonance imaging (MM) system with reduced power dissipation during decoupling. In one example, the RF coil includes a loop portion with distributed capacitance which comprises two conductor wires encapsulated and separated by a dielectric material and a feed board including a decoupling circuit configured to decouple the distributed capacitance of the loop portion during a transmit operation, an impedance inverter circuit, and a pre-amplifier.
NMR PROBE HEAD WITH PIEZOELECTRIC ACTUATORS
The NMR probe head comprises a base and a tube. A coil is arranged in the tube. A tuning and matching circuit is also arranged in the tube adjacent to the coil. The coil and/or the tuning and matching circuit comprise several tunable elements. Several actuators are arranged in the tube for actuating the tunable elements. The actuators are located in in a compact actuator assembly.
INTEGRATED COOLING CIRCUIT FOR USE WITH A SUPERCONDUCTING MAGNET
The present disclosure relates to using an integrated cooling circuit to provide both forced-flow pre-cooling functionality and closed-loop thermosiphon cooling for persistent mode operation of a superconducting magnet. In one embodiment, the integrated cooling circuit shares a single set of cooling tubes for use with both the forced-flow pre-cooling circuit as well as the closed-loop operating-state cooling circuit.
Method and magnetic resonance apparatus for monitoring a cooling system of the magnetic resonance apparatus
In a method and magnetic resonance apparatus for monitoring functioning of a cooling system of the apparatus, at least some apparatus components, that are to be cooled by the cooling system, have respective temperature sensors in thermal communication therewith. A start temperature of at least one of the components is determined by at least one of the sensors, and a computer determines, from the start temperature, at least one comparison variable that describes a reference temperature change due to power input to the respective component. The at least one temperature sensor provides the computer with a measured variable that describes actually occurring temperature change due to the power input. The computer compares the measured variable with the comparison variable and determines whether the comparison result fulfills an action criterion and, if so, the computer initiates implementation of an action associated with the action criterion.