General Electric Company

Other

Ge Medical Systems Global Technology Company, LLC

Anton Max Linz

David Leo McDaniel

Darren Lee Hallman

Dawei Gui

Edward Emaci

Gary McBroom

Xiaoli Zhao

Ajeetkumar Gaddipati

Shaorong Chang

Donglai Huo

Kevin Franklin King

Viswanathan Kanakasabai

Suma Memana Narayana Bhat

Robert Steven Stormont

Scott David Wollenweber

Charles William Stearns

Graeme Colin McKinnon

Richard Scott Hinks

Paul Edgar Licato

Jason Andrew Polzin

Chang Lyong Kim

Michael J Radziun

Erika Schneider

Scott Thomas Mansell

Vandana Prabhakar Rallabandi

Ricardo Becerra

Bruce David Collick

Dewain Anthony Purgill

William Todd Peterson

William John Bonneau

Gregory A Repinski

David M Goldhaber

Rahul Radhakrishna Pillai

Chinmoy Goswami

Srinivas Satya Sai Mallampalli

Daniel Garcia

Jim L Malaney

Tamer Fahed Khalaf

Jason Monclair Pittman

Laura Armstrong

A system and method for reducing MRI-generated acoustic noise is disclosed. A system control of an MRI apparatus causes a plurality of gradient coils and an RF coil assembly in the MRI apparatus to generate pulse sequences that each cause an echo train to form and acquire blades of k-space data of the subject of interest from the pulse sequences, with the blades being rotated about a section of k-space compared to every other blade. The system control also causes the plurality of gradient coils to generate gradient pulses in each pulse sequence having an optimized gradient waveform that reduces an acoustic noise level generated thereby and causes the RF coil assembly to generate a 180 degree prep pulse subsequent to generation of an RF excitation pulse and prior to generation of a first RF refocusing pulse, the 180 degree prep pulse minimizing echo spacing in the echo train.

System and method for reducing acoustic noise level in MR imaging

A stator-less electric motor for an MRI system is provided. The stator-less electric motor includes a body, a rotor rotatable connected to the body, and at least one coil winding disposed on the rotor. The at least one coil winding is arranged so as to rotate the rotor when energized via an electrical current in the presence of a magnetic field generated by a magnet assembly of the MRI system.

Stator-less electric motor for a magnetic resonance imaging system and methods thereof

A radio frequency (RF) body coil assembly includes a coil support structure including an inner tubular member, an outer tubular member disposed radially outwardly from the inner tubular member, and a structural material disposed between the inner and outer tubular members, an RF coil mounted to an inner surface of the coil support structure, and a positron emission tomography (PET) detector assembly mounted to an outer surface of the coil support structure. A dual-modality imaging system is also described.

Radio frequency (RF) body coil assembly for dual-modality imaging

A target object for aligning a multi-modality imaging system includes a body having a cavity therein, a first imaging source being disposed within the cavity, the first imaging source including a body having a cavity defined therein and an emission responsive material disposed within the first imaging source cavity, the first imaging source having a first shape, and a second imaging source being disposed within the cavity, the second imaging source including a body having a cavity defined therein and a magnetic resonance responsive material disposed within the second imaging source cavity, the second imaging source having a second shape that is different than the first shape. A method of aligning a multi-modality imaging system is also provided.

Method and apparatus for aligning a multi-modality imaging system

A system for isolating vibration and reducing acoustic noise in the RF coil of an MR imaging apparatus is presented. The system positions an RF conductor in its operative position proximate to an RF support form. The RF conductor is sandwiched between a vibration decoupling layer and a mass loading layer. The vibration decoupling layer is affixed to the RF support form so that the vibration decoupling layer is positioned between the RF conduit and the RF support form while the mass loading layer is located exterior of the RF conductor. By this arrangement, the acoustic energy is decoupled from the RF support form by the vibration decoupling layer while the vibration is reduced by the mass loading layer located exterior of the RF conductor.

RF body coil with acoustic isolation of conductors

A gamma ray detector ring for a combined positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system is integrated into a radio frequency (RF) coil assembly such that the detector ring is integrated with a RF shield. Each gamma ray detector in the detector ring includes a scintillator component that emits light when a gamma ray is detected and a photodetector component designed to be sensitive to the frequency of light produced by the scintillator. A RF shield may be integrated into a detector ring such that the RF shield is positioned between the scintillator and photodetector components of each detector, thereby saving valuable radial space within the imaging system. Multiple such detector rings may be located adjacent to one another to increase axial coverage and enable three-dimensional PET imaging techniques.

System and apparatus for detecting gamma rays in a PET/MRI scanner

A magnetic resonance imaging device has a compensation circuit for compensating for magnetic disturbances therein. The compensation circuit includes a sensor for sensing magnetic field changes and generating a magnetic field change signal. The sensor is coupled to a control circuit that has a transfer function therein. The control circuit is used to generate a compensation signal in response to the magnetic field change signal. The compensation signal may be coupled to the compensation coils located by the first magnet portion and the second magnet portion of the device. Also, the compensation signal may produce a time-dependent bias or change the center frequency to cancel magnetic disturbances.

Magnetic resonance imaging device having magnetic field disturbance compensation

The present invention, in one form, provides compensation for the effects of an oscillatory B0 eddy current B,(t) in an NMR apparatus. In an NMR apparatus having a transmitter generating a spin excitation signal and a receiver detecting an NMR signal, applied gradient signals are analyzed to estimate a resulting oscillatory B0 eddy current B,(t). The frequency of either the transmitter or the receiver of the NMR apparatus, or both, is shifted in frequency by an amount proportional to B,(t) to achieve compensation. The applied gradient signals are digitized and filtered using a recursive filter that is based upon an oscillatory model of the oscillatory B0 eddy current B,(t)

Filtering of oscillatory B0 behavior in NMR devices

An MRI system produces magnetic field gradients along physical axes during a patient scan. The gradients are specified as logical gradient waveforms in a pulse sequence and these are stored in a logical vector table. A physical vector table is produced by rotating amplitude values in the logical vector table, and the resulting rotated amplitude values are used to calculate the heating in each gradient axis of the MRI system.

Method for producing physical gradient waveforms in magnetic resonance

A calibration procedure for correcting geometric errors in MRI images due to gradient field non-linearities and magnetic field inhomogeneities includes performing a 3D scan on a calibration phantom. The calibration phantom contains an array of tapered rods that produce an array of spots in reconstructed slice images. Spot sizes and positions enable position errors to be measured throughout the bore of the imaging system. Corrective coefficients are produced from these 3D error measurements that enable subsequent patient images to be corrected for warping errors in object position.

Measurement of geometric distortion in MRI images

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Mukwonago, WI, United States of America

Anton Max Linz