General Electric Company

Guido Kudielka

Steven Mitchell Falk

Robert Steven Stormont

Fraser Robb

Scott Allen Lindsay

Yun-Jeong Stickle

Taylan Dalveren

Laura Irene Sacolick

Thomas Grafendorfer

Ceara Delmore Stack

Jacques Felblinger

William A Grissom

Pierre-Andre Vuissoz

Mika Vogel

Victor Taracilla

Methods and systems are provided for radio frequency (RF) coil arrays for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems. In an embodiment, a RF coil array assembly for a MRI system includes a compressible body; an upper posterior RF coil array including a first plurality of RF coils embedded in the compressible body; a lower posterior RF coil array including a second plurality of RF coils embedded in the compressible body; and a head and neck RF coil array removably coupled to the upper posterior RF coil array. The head and neck RF coil array includes a third plurality of RF coils embedded in the compressible body, and one or more neck straps configured to fold over a neck of a subject to be imaged by the MRI system.

Flexible radio frequency coil array with detachable straps for MR imaging

The system of the invention utilizes a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) coil to measure power at a different frequency than the MRI frequency to produce MRI images. The different frequency such as harmonic frequency of the MR coil is applied to the coil and the reflected power is measured by the power sensor. Changes due to respiratory, cardiac, or overall motion are then analyzed, as desired. During imaging, the coil is connected to the MRI system and disconnected from the setup described, including the power sensor and its associated data processing, amplifier, signal generator, and directional coupler. Disconnect is provided in a one-step process by the switching circuit. Using the reflected power of a different frequency than the resonant frequencies of an MR coil improves signal information because it does not interfere with MR imaging process, is independent of patient and position, depicts the mechanical motion of the chest or organs near to the coil, and also measures irregular physiological activities with enough temporal resolution to describe these physiological changes.

Power measurement on magnetic resonance imaging coil at different frequency than Larmor frequency

A system and method for radio-frequency (RF) field mapping are provided. One method includes encoding a Bphase in at least one magnetic resonance (MR) excitation pulse as an encoded Bphase MR excitation pulse for at least a subset of a plurality of transmit channels within a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system. The method also includes encoding a Bmagnitude in at least one off-resonance MR pulse as an encoded Bmagnitude off-resonance MR pulse for at least a subset of the plurality of transmit channels within the MRI system. The method further includes determining one or more composite Bfields resulting from a transmission of the at least one encoded Bphase MR excitation pulse and the at least one encoded Bmagnitude off-resonance MR pulse.

System and method for magnetic resonance radio-frequency field mapping

Growing community of inventors

Munich, Germany

Guido Kudielka