General Electric Company

Ge Precision Healthcare LLC

Other

Ge Medical Systems Global Technology Company, LLC

Longzhi Jiang

Timothy John Havens

William Louis Einziger

Weijun Shen

John Scaturro, Jr

Tesfaye Kebede Kidane

Evangelos Trifon Laskaris

Ernst Wolfgang Stautner

Mark O Derakhshan

Edwin L Legall

Venkata Kishore Mogatadakala

Yuri Lvovsky

Tao Zhang

Gregory Alan Lehmann

Saikat Saha

Jalal Hunain Zia

Benjamin Jacob Gronemeyer

Robbi McDonald

Kathleen Melanie Amm

Stuart Paul Feltham

Zhenyu Zhang

Charles Dudley Yarborough

Xiaoxue Diao

Clifford Ginfrida, Jr

Yu Wang

Hendrik Pieter Jacobus De Bock

James Pellegrino Alexander

Tao Deng

Paul St Mark Shadforth Thompson

John Arthur Urbahn

Hua Zhou

Neil Clarke

Yihe Hua

Erman Citirik

William E Chen

Gregory Citver

Timothy Elden Wise

In-Hua Xu

Roy A Mangano

Richard Thomas Hackett

Dogan Celik

Charles Franklin Helms

Robert Belinski

Venkata Krishnan Veeraraghavan Narayanan

Mark Haig Khachaturian

Jiayin Ling

Liyang Ye

Thomas Edward Moran

Clifford Joseph Ginfrida

Harold Monroe James

Yuye Jiang

Kabindra Ram Bhattarai

Wen Shang

A superconducting magnet system includes a coil support structure having a body, a superconducting magnet having a plurality of coils disposed about the body, and a helium vessel encompassing the coil support structure and the superconducting magnet. The superconducting magnet system includes a cooling system that includes a network of tubes disposed within the helium vessel and configured to transport helium within, wherein the network of tubes is retroactively thermally coupled to the plurality of coils. The cooling system includes a liquid helium storage system located within the helium vessel and a helium recondenser located outside the helium vessel. The cooling system includes one or more tubes coupling the helium storage system to the helium recondenser, wherein where the one or more tubes pass through the helium vessel is retroactively vacuum sealed to make the helium vessel a sealed helium vessel.

System and method for converting helium bath cooling system for a superconducting magnet of a magnetic resonance imaging system into a sealed cryogenic system

A method of manufacturing a lead assembly of a cryogenic system is provided. The method includes developing a three-dimensional (3D) model of a heat exchanger. The heat exchanger includes a plurality of channels extending longitudinally through the heat exchanger from the first end to the second end, the plurality of channels forming a plurality of thermal surfaces within the heat exchanger, the heat exchanger having a transverse cross section. The method further includes modifying the 3D model by at least one of reducing an area of the cross section and increasing the plurality of thermal surfaces. The method also includes additively manufacturing the heat exchanger using an electrically-conductive and thermally-conductive material according to the modified 3D model. Further, the method includes providing a high temperature superconductor (HTS) assembly that includes an HTS strip, and connecting the HTS assembly to the heat exchanger at the second end of the heat exchanger.

High temperature superconducting current lead assembly for cryogenic apparatus

A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system may include a magnet, one or more gradient power amplifiers, one or more radio frequency (RF) power amplifiers, and a single power supply configured to provide power to each of the magnet, the one or more gradient power amplifiers, and the one or more RF power amplifiers.

Systems and methods for energizing magnets of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems

A magnetic resonance imaging system includes at least one gradient coil, at least one coil former, a thermal shield assembly, and at least one linking member. The at least one gradient coil generates at least one gradient field along at least one direction in response to pulsed signals. The at least one coil former is attached with at least one coil. The thermal shield assembly is arranged adjacent to the at least one coil former. The at least one linking member is configured for increasing mechanical rigidity of the thermal shield assembly by mechanically linking at least a part of the thermal shield assembly with the at least one coil former. As a result, mechanical vibrations of the thermal shield assembly can be reduced.

System for reducing thermal shield vibrations

A system and method for magnetic field distortion compensation includes a cryostat for a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system. The cryostat includes a vacuum casing having a vacuum therein. A cryogen vessel is disposed within the casing, the vessel having a coolant therein. A thermal shield is disposed between the vacuum casing and the cryogen vessel. An eddy current compensation assembly is disposed within the casing. The eddy current compensation assembly includes a plurality of electrically conductive loops formed on one of the vacuum casing, the cryogen vessel, and the thermal shield and constructed to mitigate vibration-induced eddy currents in the MRI system.

System for magnetic field distortion compensation and method of making same

A control system for a superconducting magnet includes an electrically conductive lead having a first end electrically coupled to the superconducting magnet, at least one of a main power supply, a shimming power supply and a discharge module electrically coupled to a second end of the lead, and a controller in communication with the at least one of the main power supply, the shimming power supply and the discharge module. The controller is configured to monitor at least one magnet parameter value indicative of a state of the superconducting magnet and to automatically control operation of the at least one of the main power supply, the shimming power supply and the discharge module when the magnet parameter value crosses a predetermined threshold value prior to a quench.

Control system and method for a superconducting magnet

A system for energizing a main coil of superconducting magnet in a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system includes a cryostat comprising a housing. A first coil is positioned within the housing of the cryostat. Alternatively, the first coil may be positioned external to the housing of the cryostat. A second coil is coupled to the first coil and positioned external to the housing of the cryostat. The second coil is configured to inductively couple to the main coil. A controller is coupled to the first coil and the second coil and is configured to control the first coil and the second coil to induce current in the main coil.

System and method for energizing a superconducting magnet

A coil support arrangement for a Magnetic Resonance Imaging System and method of support are provided. One coil support arrangement includes a main former body having a plurality of channels between end flanges and a splint coupled to the main former body between the end flanges. The coil support arrangement also includes a load spreader coupled to the main former body adjacent one or more of the ends of the splint, and having a gap between the one or more ends of the splint and the load spreader.

Coil support for a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) magnet and method of support

A magnet apparatus for a magnetic resonance imaging system, the magnet apparatus includes a vacuum vessel, a helium vessel disposed within the vacuum vessel and a thermal shield disposed between the vacuum vessel and the helium vessel. A set of passive compensation coils are disposed within the vacuum vessel or the helium vessel and used to compensate for magnetic field distortion caused by mechanical vibrations within the magnet apparatus.

System and apparatus for compensating for magnetic field distortion in an MRI system

A magnet apparatus for a magnetic resonance imaging system, the magnet apparatus includes a cylindrical vacuum vessel, a closed loop cooling system disposed within the vacuum vessel and a cylindrical thermal shield disposed between the vacuum vessel and the closed loop cooling system. A set of passive compensation coils are disposed within the vacuum vessel and used to compensate for magnetic field distortion caused by mechanical vibrations within the magnet apparatus.

Systems and methods from removing heat generated by a heat sink of a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system are provided. One system includes a coldhead sleeve cooling arrangement for a coldhead of the MRI system. The coldhead sleeve cooling arrangement includes a coldhead sleeve configured to receive therein a coldhead of an MRI system and a cooling system surrounding an outer surface of the coldhead sleeve. The cooling system uses helium gas to remove heat from the coldhead sleeve.

System and method for removing heat generated by a heat sink of magnetic resonance imaging system

A gradient coil apparatus for a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system includes an inner gradient coil assembly comprising at least one inner gradient coil and an outer gradient coil assembly comprising at least one outer gradient coil. At least one gradient coil interconnect is coupled to the inner gradient coil and the outer gradient coil. The gradient coil interconnect includes a wire assembly comprising a plurality of conductors. The wire assembly has a first end electrically coupled to the outer gradient coil assembly and a second end electrically coupled to the inner gradient coil. The gradient coil interconnect also includes a reinforcement material disposed around a portion of the wire assembly.

System and apparatus for providing interconnections in a gradient coil assembly

A thermal shield and method for thermally cooling a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system are provided. One thermal shield includes a cooling tube forming a frame. The cooling tube is configured to receive therethrough cryogen fluid from a cryogen vessel of an MRI system. The thermal shield further includes at least one thermal control layer surrounding the frame and together with the frame is configured to provide thermal shielding of the MRI system.

Thermal shield and method for thermally cooling a magnetic resonance imaging system

A gradient coil apparatus for a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system includes an inner gradient coil assembly and an outer gradient coil assembly disposed around the inner gradient coil assembly. The outer gradient coil assembly has an outer surface, a first end and a second end. The gradient coil apparatus also includes a force balancing apparatus disposed around the outer surface of the outer gradient coil assembly. In one embodiment, the force balancing apparatus includes an active force balancing coil disposed around the outer surface of the outer gradient coil assembly. In another embodiment, the force balancing apparatus includes a first passive conducting strip disposed around the first end of the outer gradient coil assembly and a second passive conducting strip disposed around the second end of the outer gradient coil assembly.

System and apparatus for balancing radial forces in a gradient coil

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Florence, SC, United States of America

Longzhi Jiang