General Electric Company

Ge Precision Healthcare LLC

Ge Homeland Protection, Inc.

Juan Antonio Sabate

Ruxi Wang

Pengcheng Zhu

Margaret Ann Wiza

Tao Ma

Viswanathan Kanakasabai

Fengfeng Tao

Xi Lu

Jayanti Navilgone Ganesh

Wesley Michael Skeffington

Song Chi

Xiaohu Liu

Yimeng Shi

Luis Jose Garces

Antonio Caiafa

Eladio Clemente Delgado

Fei Xu

Garron Koch Morris

Rixin Lai

Jeffrey Neal Slotnick

Krishna Mainali

Han Peng

Robert Louis Steigerwald

Ahmed Elasser

Rajendra Naik

Mohammed Agamy

Maja Harfman Todorovic

Karthik Kumar Bodla

Yash Veer Singh

Gary Dwayne Mandrusiak

Melissa Freeman

Juan Manuel Rivas Davila

Michael Thomas Rose

Ying Mei

Qiming Li

Tao Wu

John Stanley Glaser

Douglas Carl Hofer

Peter Almern Losee

Yunfeng Liu

Ljubisa Dragoljub Stevanovic

Di Zhang

Jie Zhou

Michael Joseph Schutten

Richard S Zhang

Anis Zribi

Richard Alfred Beaupre

Tomas Sadilek

Loucas Tsakalakos

Paul Michael Szczesny

Kenneth Roger Conway

William F Wirth

Anthony William Galbraith

Jiabin Yao

Cong Li

Azar Alizadeh

Jeffrey Joseph Nasadoski

Louis Martin Frigo

Douglas John Link

Xinhui Wu

William John Bonneau

Suryaprakash Ganti

Yanjun Zhang

Syedsaad Ali

Jianguo Xiao

Lei Wang

Zhenen Cao

Tiezheng Chen

Kieran Andrew Wall

Kevin Patrick Rooney

Kanakasabai Viswanathan

Jayanti Ganesh

A gate driver circuit includes an isolated gate driver power supply circuit. The isolated gate driver power supply circuit includes a coreless transformer including a primary winding and a secondary winding. The secondary winding is wound about a toroid-shaped, non-magnetic body and the primary winding is a single turn primary winding to reduce capacitance coupling between the primary winding and the secondary winding. The isolated gate driver power supply circuit also includes a resonance converter coupled to the coreless transformer, wherein the resonance converter is configured to enable the isolated gate driver power supply circuit to generate an output voltage independent of load.

Gate driver coreless transformers for magnetic resonance imaging power electronics

This disclosure regards a magnetic resonance imaging system including a scanner, and gradient drivers. The scanner is to be implemented within a scan room that is shielded from electromagnetic interference. Gradient coils are designed to create a linear gradient in the magnetic field generated in the scanner by a primary magnet. These coils are energized by gradient drivers. The gradient drivers use transformers and other electrical devices in a switching stage configured to generate pulse-width-modulated power. The transformers may have non-magnetic cores to facilitate implementing the gradient drivers within the scan room. The gradient drivers also use a filtering stage which uses inductors and other electrical devices to smooth the pulse-width-modulated power. The inductors within the filters may have non-magnetic cores to facilitate implementing the gradient driver within the scan room. Additionally, an inductor with a hollow wire may be used to circulate fluid to facilitate cooling the gradient driver.

Magnetic resonance imaging switching power amplifier system and methods

A system for monitoring a junction temperature of a semiconductor device includes a sensing resistor electrically coupled to a source terminal of the semiconductor device in a gate loop of the semiconductor device. The system includes a detection circuit electrically coupled to the gate loop of the semiconductor device and configured to measure a voltage difference across the sensing resistor. The system also includes an electronic control unit electrically coupled to the gate loop and the detection circuit. The electronic control unit is configured to determine a first gate current peak during a switching process of the semiconductor device, wherein the first gate current peak is determined based on the voltage detected by the detection circuit. The electronic control unit is configured to determine the junction temperature based on the first gate current peak.

Systems and methods for monitoring junction temperature of a semiconductor switch

Power systems and circuitry for generation of gradient magnetic fields in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems are discussed herein. Embodiments may include the use of multiple gradient amplifiers that share a high-frequency power distribution unit, that may perform power distribution and power supply roles. The high-frequency power distribution unit may allow the use of a single power supply to drive multiple gradient amplifiers via a shared power bus. The gradient amplifiers may make use of modern semiconductor materials that provide high-frequency, high voltage performance, and may be implemented using single semiconductor bridges.

Systems and methods for providing gradient power for an MRI system

A gate driver circuit is provided. The gate driver circuit includes an isolated gate driver power supply circuit. The isolated gate driver power supply circuit includes a coreless transformer and a resonance converter coupled to the coreless transformer. A method of manufacturing an isolated gate driver power supply circuit for a gate driver circuit is also provided.

Gate driver

Embodiments of the present disclosure include an inductor including at least one inductor coil, the at least one inductor coil including a plurality of outer longitudinal portions aligned around an outer periphery of the inductor, and a plurality of inner longitudinal portions aligned around an interior of the inductor. The plurality of outer longitudinal portions and the plurality of inner longitudinal portions collectively form two width-wise sides of the inductor and two length-wise sides of the inductor. The two width-wise sides and the two lengthwise sides define a substantially rectangular prism shape. The two width-wise sides and the two lengthwise sides define a hollow inductor core.

High density magnetic resonant imaging gradient driver with integrated cooling

In a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system, synchronized control of the operation of a gradient amplifier subsystem, a power supply subsystem, and a power distribution unit subsystem is accomplished by providing a coil command reference signal as an input to respective control blocks of the gradient amplifier subsystem, the power supply subsystem, and the power distribution unit subsystem. The coil command reference signal corresponds to a predetermined gradient coil current for at least one gradient coil of a scanner of the MRI system.

Synchronized control of power supply and gradient amplifier in MRI systems

A pulsed power system is disclosed, which comprises at least two H-bridges cascaded for providing pulsed current to a load. Each H-bridge comprises at least two legs, and each leg comprises at least two transistor switches connected in series. Each transistor switch comprises a transistor and a diode electrically coupled with the transistor in parallel. The pulsed power system also comprises a controller configured to determine if a slew rate of the load current is lower than a threshold, and to reduce switching loss in response to the slew rate being lower than the threshold.

Pulsed power system and control method thereof

At least one thermal module in fluidic communication with the one or more electronic components. The thermal module including a hydraulic motor operable to rotate a motor output shaft. The module further including a fan coupled to the motor output shaft, at least one heat exchanger in fluidic communication with the fan to provide passage therethrough of an air stream in response to rotational movement of the fan, and a conduit carrying a pressurized liquid stream through the hydraulic motor and each of the at least one heat exchanger. The pressurized liquid stream causing the motor output shaft to rotate and wherein heat in one of the air stream or the pressurized liquid stream is passed through each of the at least one heat exchanger and rejected into the other of the air stream or the pressurized liquid stream. A thermal management system including the at least one thermal module is disclosed.

Liquid driven thermal module and thermal management system

A gradient amplifier for use in a MRI system can be located in the scan room. The gradient amplifier includes pair of rails connected to a gradient power supply. The gradient amplifier also includes a H-bridge of switches which includes a first high side switch and a first low side switch connected in series between the pair of rails, and a second high side switch and a second low side switch connected in series between the pair of rails. The gradient amplifier further includes a first high side driver circuit, a first low side driver circuit, a second high side driver circuit, and a second low side driver circuit, each configured to drive the corresponding switch in the H-bridge. A common power source supplies power to all driver circuits, wherein power is supplied to the high side driver circuits through bootstrap circuits.

Magnetic resonance imaging gradient driver systems and methods

A method of handling a peak power requirement of a medical imaging deviceis presented. The method includes determining, using at least one controlling unit, a first voltage corresponding to a direct current (DC) link, a second voltage corresponding to one or more energy storage devices, or a combination thereof, where a power sourceis coupled to a plurality of loads via the DC link, and the energy storage devices are coupled to the DC link. Further, the method includes comparing, using the at least one controlling unit, the first voltage with a first reference value and the second voltage with a second reference value and regulating, using at least one controlling unit, at least one of the first voltage and the second voltage based on the comparison, to handle the peak power requirement of the medical imaging device.

Systems and methods for handling peak power requirements of a medical imaging device

A diagnostic device for diagnosing a faulty condition in a gradient amplifier system is presented. The diagnostic device includes a first current sensor configured to be coupled to an input terminal of a filter unit, where the first current sensor is configured to measure a first electric current at the input terminal of the filter unit, and where the first electric current includes a high frequency current component and a low frequency current component. Further, the diagnostic device includes a diagnostic unit coupled to the first current sensor and configured to determine an impedance across the filter unit and a load unit based on the low frequency current component of the measured first electric current and a pre-stored reference voltage, and diagnose the faulty condition of at least one component in at least one of the filter unit and the load unit based on a characteristic of the determined impedance.

Diagnostic device and method for diagnosing a faulty condition in a gradient amplifier system

Growing community of inventors

Gansevoort, NY, United States of America

Juan Antonio Sabate