Embodiments of the present disclosure provide an interrogation device that is operable to apply one or more source signals to one or more coils surrounding a volume, where a material is disposed within the volume. Each of the one or more source signals may excite one of the one or more coils, and the behavior of each the one or more coils responsive to the exciting may be monitored. One or more parameters may be determined based on the behavior of each the one or more coils, and the one or more parameters may be utilized to generate a signature for the material within the volume. The signature may be compared to one or more signatures of known materials to identify the material within the volume.

Various systems and methods are provided for radio frequency coil assemblies for a magnetic resonance imaging system. In one example, a method comprises: flowing air through a plurality of airflow passages formed in a radio frequency (RF) coil assembly for a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system; and receiving magnetic resonance (MR) signals from an RF coil array of the RF coil assembly, wherein the RF coil array comprises a plurality of RF coil elements, each RF coil element having a loop portion which comprises two distributed capacitance wire conductors encapsulated and separated by a dielectric material.

A magnetic resonance tomography apparatus includes a receiving device having a number of magnetic resonance receive antennas for receiving a magnetic resonance signal in response to a radio frequency signal transmitted at a magnetic resonance frequency. A respective magnetic resonance receive antenna is connected to a parametric mixer. A receive circuit formed hereby is provided inside the cryostat and is coupled via a contactless communication interface to an evaluation circuit provided outside the cryostat. The evaluation circuit includes a local oscillator device for generating an auxiliary signal at an auxiliary frequency. The auxiliary signal is transmitted via the contactless communication interface to the receive circuit. The receive circuit is configured such that a mixed signal having a mixed frequency is generated via the parametric mixer from the auxiliary signal and the magnetic resonance signal and transmitted via the contactless communication interface to the evaluation circuit.

The invention provides for a magnetic resonance imaging system (100, 300) for acquiring magnetic resonance data (142) from a subject (118) within an imaging zone (108). The magnetic resonance imaging system comprises a magnetic resonance imaging antenna (113, 113′) comprising multiple loop antenna elements (114, 114′) with multiple infrared thermometry sensors (115, 115′). The magnetic resonance imaging antenna is configured for being positioned adjacent to an external surface (119) of the subject and at least a portion of the multiple infrared thermometry sensors are directed towards the external surface. The magnetic resonance imaging system further comprises a memory (134, 136) containing machine executable instructions (150, 152) and pulse sequence instructions (140). The machine executable instructions causes a processor controlling the system to: acquire (200) the magnetic resonance data by controlling the magnetic resonance imaging system with the pulse sequence instructions; repeatedly (202) measure at least one surface temperature (146) of the subject with the multiple infrared thermometry sensors during acquisition of the magnetic resonance data; and perform (204) a predefined action if the at least one surface temperature is above a predefined temperature.

A coil system for a magnetic resonance tomography system includes a plurality of coils for sending and/or receiving high-frequency signals. The plurality of coils is disposed in a receiving chamber between a tomography magnet and a lining of an opening in the tomography magnet and may be cooled by a cooling apparatus. When the coil system is in an operating state, the receiving chamber is filled with a cryogenic cooling medium.

A distributed device and method for detecting groundwater based on nuclear magnetic resonance are provided. The device includes an excitation apparatus, multiple polarization apparatuses, an aerial reception apparatus, and a control apparatus. The aerial reception apparatus includes an array cooled coil sensor. For each of the multiple polarization apparatuses, a position analysis module determines, together with a second position analysis module of the polarization apparatus, a position of the array cooled coil sensor relative to a polarization coil in the polarization apparatus. A polarization transmitter in the polarization apparatus switches to a mode of waiting for output in a case that the array cooled coil sensor is in coverage of the polarization coil. The polarization transmitter in the polarization apparatus remains in a standby mode in a case that the array cooled coil sensor is beyond coverage of the polarization coil.

Method for optimizing a chronological sequence in an MR control sequence according to which a magnetic resonator having a gradient coil unit including first and second gradient coils and a cooling layer is controllable. The MR control sequence has a first and second sequence modules configured to control the first and second gradient coils, respectively. The method comprises detecting a property including a cooling power of the cooling layer for the first gradient coil or the second gradient coil, or a feature which is representative of a chronologically preceding use of the gradient coil unit; determining a first requirement of the first sequence module on the first gradient coil; determining a second requirement of the second sequence module on the second gradient coil; and optimizing the chronological sequence in the first and second sequence module by taking into account the property and the first and second requirements.

Systems and methods are described, and one method includes illuminating a target-of-interest (TI) with an RF energy configured to effect, over a time duration extending from a first time to a second time, an increase in a temperature of the TI. At a first detection time within the time duration, a first temperature NQR signal spectrum of the TI is detected, and a corresponding first temperature NQR spectrum data set is generates. At a second detection time, subsequent to the first detection time, a second temperature NQR signal spectrum of the TI is detected and corresponding second temperature NQR spectrum data set is output. Based at least in part on the first temperature NQR spectral dataset and the second temperature NQR spectral dataset, the TI is classified between including the SI and not including the SI.

A method and apparatus are provided for limiting a B1 field used for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The techniques described herein reduce a waste of performance of the B1 field while ensuring patient safety and improving the MR imaging quality.

A distributed device and method for detecting groundwater based on nuclear magnetic resonance are provided. The device includes an excitation apparatus, multiple polarization apparatuses, an aerial reception apparatus, and a control apparatus. The aerial reception apparatus includes an array cooled coil sensor. For each of the multiple polarization apparatuses, a position analysis module determines, together with a second position analysis module of the polarization apparatus, a position of the array cooled coil sensor relative to a polarization coil in the polarization apparatus. A polarization transmitter in the polarization apparatus switches to a mode of waiting for output in a case that the array cooled coil sensor is in coverage of the polarization coil. The polarization transmitter in the polarization apparatus remains in a standby mode in a case that the array cooled coil sensor is beyond coverage of the polarization coil.