University of Minnesota

The General Hospital Corporation

Life Services, LLC

J Thomas Vaughan, Jr

Kamil Ugurbil

Gregor Adriany

Pierre-Francois Van De Moortele

Carl J Snyder

Anand Gopinath

Jinfeng Tian

Can E Akgun

John Strupp

Peter M Andersen

Christopher C Olson

Charles A Lemaire

Michael G Garwood

Steen Moeller

Heather Diane Orser

Lance DelaBarre

Xiaoping Wu

Angela Lynn Styczynski Snyder

Johannes Ritter

William Voje

Gregor Adiany

A progressive series of five new coils is described. The first coil solves problems of transmit-field inefficiency and inhomogeneity for heart and body imaging, with a close-fitting, 16-channel TEM conformal array design with efficient shield-capacitance decoupling. The second coil progresses directly from the first with automatic tuning and matching, an innovation of huge importance for multi-channel transmit coils. The third coil combines the second, auto-tuned multi-channel transmitter with a 32-channel receiver for best transmit-efficiency, control, receive-sensitivity and parallel-imaging performance. The final two coils extend the innovative technology of the first three coils to multi-nuclear (P&#x2014;H) designs to make practical human-cardiac imaging and spectroscopy possible for the first time at 7 T.

Auto-tune- and-match coils for human whole-body imaging and method

A method for generating a magnetic resonance image includes configuring a magnetic field to correspond to a trajectory within a region of interest. The method includes applying RF excitation to spatially control a region of magnetic resonance corresponding to the trajectory. The method includes modulating the magnetic field coincident with the spatially controlled region of magnetic resonance. The method includes acquiring data corresponding to the region of magnetic resonance and generating an image based on the data.

Beam steering with resonance along a trajectory

This document discusses, among other things, a radio frequency magnetic coil is coupled to a wireless communication circuit. The wireless communication circuit allows control or monitoring of individual channels or other functions of a coil.

Bandage or garment combined with a wirelessly coupled magnetic resonance coil

An RF coil system for magnetic resonance applications includes a multi-channel RF coil transceiver and a multi-channel RF coil. The RF coil system is structured for reconfiguration between a plurality of operational modes.

Multi-channel RF coil system with multi-channel RF coil transceiver detecting more than one frequency at the same time for magnetic resonance imaging systems and methods

An apparatus comprises a radio frequency magnetic field unit to generate a desired magnetic field. In one embodiment, the radio frequency magnetic field unit includes a first aperture that is substantially unobstructed and a second aperture contiguous to the first aperture. In an alternative embodiment, the radio frequency magnetic field unit includes a first side aperture, a second side aperture and one or more end apertures. In one embodiment of a method, a current element is removed from a radio frequency magnetic field unit to form a magnetic field unit having an aperture. In an alternative embodiment, two current elements located opposite from one another in a radio frequency magnetic field unit are removed to form a magnetic filed unit having a first side aperture and a second side aperture.

Assymetric radio frequency magnetic line array

A magnetic resonance system is disclosed. The system includes a transceiver having a multichannel receiver and a multichannel transmitter, where each channel of the transmitter is configured for independent selection of frequency, phase, time, space, and magnitude, and each channel of the receiver is configured for independent selection of space, time, frequency, phase and gain. The system also includes a magnetic resonance coil having a plurality of current elements, with each element coupled in one to one relation with a channel of the receiver and a channel of the transmitter. The system further includes a processor coupled to the transceiver, such that the processor is configured to execute instructions to control a current in each element and to perform a non-linear algorithm to shim the coil.

High field magnetic resonance

A current unit having two or more current paths allows control of magnitude, phase, time, frequency and position of each of element in a radio frequency coil. For each current element, the current can be adjusted as to a phase angle, frequency and magnitude. Multiple current paths of a current unit can be used for targeting multiple spatial domains or strategic combinations of the fields generated/detected by combination of elements for targeting a single domain in magnitude, phase, time, space and frequency.

Multi-current elements for magnetic resonance radio frequency coils

Technology for controlling non-uniformity in the Bfield includes selecting the phase, magnitude, frequency, time, or spatial relationship among various elements of a multi-channel excitation coil in order to control the radio frequency (RF) power emanating from the coil antenna elements. Non-uniformity can be used to steer a constructively interfering Bfield node to spatially correlate with an anatomic region of interest. A convex (quadratically constrained quadratic problem) formulation of the Blocalization problem can be used to select parameters for exciting the coil. Localization can be used in simulated Finite Difference Time Domain Bfield human head distributions and human head phantom measurement.

Radio frequency field localization for magnetic resonance

This document discusses, among other things, a system and method for a coil having a plurality of resonant elements and an adjustable frame. A position of at least one resonant element can be adjusted relative to at least one other resonant element. A variable impedance is coupled to adjacent resonant elements and the impedance varies as a function of a separation distance. Cables are coupled to each resonant element and are gathered at a junction in a particular manner.

Spatially reconfigurable magnetic resonance coil

An excitation and detection circuit having individually controllable elements for use with a multi-element radio frequency coil. Characteristics of the driving signal, including, for example, the phase, amplitude, frequency and timing, from each element of the circuit is separately controllable using small signals. Negative feedback for the driving signal associated with each coil element is derived from a receiver coupled to that coil element.

Parallel transceiver for nuclear magnetic resonance system

Assymetric radio frequency transmission line array

Radio frequency magnetic field unit with aperature

An RF coil suitable for use in imaging systems is provided which coil has a dielectric filled cavity formed by a surrounding conducting enclosure, the conducting enclosure preferably being patterned to form continuous electrical paths around the cavity, each of which paths may be tuned to a selected resonant frequency. The patterning breaks up any currents induced in the coil and shortens path lengths to permit higher frequency, and thus higher field strength operation. The invention also includes improved mechanisms for tuning the resonant frequency of the paths, for selectively detuning the paths, for applying signal to the coil, for shortening the length of the coil and for controlling the field profile of the coil and the delivery of field to the object to the image.

Growing community of inventors

Stillwater, MN, United States of America

J Thomas Vaughan, Jr