Hitachi, Ltd.

Fujifilm Healthcare Corporation

Yokogawa Electric Corporation

Hitachi High-tech Corporation

Hokkaido University

Manabu Aoki

Yukinobu Imamura

Ryuya Ando

Takeshi Nakayama

Akihisa Miyazoe

Hiroyuki Takeuchi

Yusuke Vincent Fujii

Taisuke Takayanagi

Ryoji Nakagawa

Takaaki Suzuki

Kikuo Umegaki

Mitsushi Abe

Motomune Kodama

Takeshi Kawamura

Hideki Tanaka

Akio Morita

Taeko Matsuura

Hiroki Shirato

Shinichi Shimizu

Chishin Hori

Masanori Takahashi

Takayuki Hamada

Yukihiro Murata

Tatsuhiko Kawakami

Kengo Goto

Shin Hoshino

The system includes a bed on which an irradiation target is mounted, an irradiation device that irradiates the irradiation target with a particle beam, and a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus that captures an image of an irradiation object and includes a magnet that generates a static magnetic field in an image capturing space in which the irradiation target is disposed, and a yoke disposed outside the image capturing space and through which a magnetic flux of the generated magnetic field passes. The irradiation deviceis disposed on a back surface side of the yoke when viewed from the image capturing space, and irradiates the irradiation target with the particle beam from a through-hole or gap provided in the yoke. A direction in which the particle beam enters the image capturing space intersects with a direction of a static magnetic field applied to the image capturing space by the magnet.

Particle beam therapy system and magnetic resonance imaging apparatus

The present invention addresses a problem of providing an MgB2 wire material having a small reversible bending radius, a superconducting coil using the same, and an MRI without lowering a critical current value and a critical current density of the MgB2 wire material to an extreme. To solve the problem, provided are a superconducting wire having a plurality of MgB2 strands and a first base metal, a superconducting coil using the same, and an MRI, the superconducting wire being characterized in that in a cross section orthogonal to a wire longitudinal direction, a center point of an area surrounded by the plurality of MgB2 strands and a center axis of a cross section of the superconducting wire are disposed in separated positions.

Superconducting wire, superconducting coil using same, and MRI

An MRI apparatus equipped with a magnetic shield structure to reduce flux leakage. The MRI apparatus includes: a pair of static magnetic magnets that are disposed on opposite sides of an imaging space; and a pair of gradient coils that are disposed on opposite sides of the imaging space. Each static magnetic magnet has a disk-shaped magnetic material poleand a ring-shaped magnetic material pole. Each gradient coil has a first coilthat applies a magnetic field gradient in a Z axis direction in an imaging region, and a laminatethat shields the disk-shaped magnetic material pole from magnetic flux produced in the first coil. The laminate has a smaller thickness in the Z axis direction on the ring-shaped magnetic material pole side than that in a center portion of the imaging space. A vertical lowest portion of a laminate end portion on the ring-shaped magnetic material pole side of the laminate is in a higher position than a position of a lowest portion of a laminate central portion on the imaging region side of the laminate.

Magnetic resonance imaging apparatus

A particle therapy system includes an acceleratorwhich generates a particle beam for extraction, an irradiation apparatuswhich irradiates the particle beam to an irradiation target, a gantrywhich rotates together with the irradiation apparatus, and an MRI apparatuswhich rotates together with the gantry. The MRI apparatusincludes a magnetic circuit composed of an iron coreand a plurality of coilsserving as a magnetic flux source. The iron coreincludes two oppositely disposed magnetic polesA andB, and a return yokefor connecting the magnetic polesA andB. The magnetic polesA,B have cavitiesA,B. The particle beam passing through the cavityA is irradiated to the irradiation target

Particle therapy system

An open-type MRI apparatus includes a pair of static magnetic field magnets and a pair of gradient magnetic field coils. Each static magnetic field magnet includes a discoid magnetic pole configured to generate a static magnetic field in a Z axis direction in which the pair of static magnetic field magnets are opposed each other, and an annular magnetic pole configured to generate a static magnetic field on an X-Y plane perpendicular to the Z axis direction. Each gradient magnetic field coil includes a Z coil configured to provide a magnetic field being gradient in the Z axis direction in the imaging region, a magnetic material block configured to shield the discoid magnetic pole from a magnetic flux generated from the Z coil, and a correction coil configured to shield the annular magnetic pole from the magnetic flux generated from the Z coil.

Open-type magnetic resonance imaging apparatus

A superconducting magnet in which efficiency of conduction cooling is improved is described as well as a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus that includes the superconducting magnet and requires no liquid helium. The magnet resonance imaging apparatus includes: a coil portion including a winding core, a winding portion formed by winding a wire around the winding core, a first flange provided on one side of the winding core, and a second flange provided on the other side of the winding core; a cooling device for cooling the coil portion; and a heat conducting member for thermally connecting the coil portion and the cooling device, in which at least one of the first flange, the second flange, and the winding core has a region made of a material whose thermal contraction rate is larger than a thermal contraction rate of the winding portion.

Superconducting magnet and magnetic resonance imaging apparatus

The superconducting magnet device reduces the number of connections within and/or the number of wires leading out of a superconducting coil winding and promptly starts expending the magnetic energy in a superconducting coil operating in a persistent-current mode when the superconducting coil increases in temperature or transitions to normal conductivity. This invention provides a superconducting magnet device that has the following: a superconducting coil connected to an excitation power supply; a persistent-current switch connected to the superconducting coil; a heater that controls the temperature of the persistent-current switch; a current source that is connected in parallel with the persistent-current switch and has a different polarity from the excitation power supply; a driving circuit connected to the heater and the current source; and a signal-inputting means for inputting a signal to the driving circuit. The driving circuit operates the heater and the current source when the signal is inputted thereto.

Superconducting magnet device

This superconducting magnet includes: a superconducting coil that is formed by winding a first superconducting wire rod; a second superconducting wire rod, which is disposed by being thermally in contact with and electrically insulated from the superconducting coil, and which has a superconducting transition temperature that is lower than that of the first superconducting wire rod; voltage terminals that are disposed at a plurality of areas of the second superconducting wire rod; a voltmeter connected to the voltage terminals; and a switch circuit connected to the voltmeter. The switch circuit interrupts a current when receiving an output from the voltmeter, the current being one that is to be supplied to the superconducting coil.

Superconducting magnet

An alternating current loss measuring apparatus for superconductors includes a superconductor specimen, a magnetic field applying coil, a radiation shield, a vacuum vessel, first cooling means, and second cooling means. The first cooling means or the second cooling means is provided with a temperature regulating mechanism. The magnetic field applying means and the radiation shield are set to be a first cooling part, whereas the superconductor specimen is set to be a second cooling part, and the first cooling part and the second cooling part are cooled by first and second cooling means, respectively. A high thermal resistance member is disposed between the superconductor specimen and the second cooling means, and temperature measuring means are disposed at at least two positions on the high thermal resistance member. The alternating current loss of a superconductor under an external magnetic field can be measured at each of different temperatures.

Alternating current loss measuring apparatus

A superconducting magnet device is configured to include: a refrigerant circulation flowpath in which a refrigerant (R) circulates; a refrigerator for cooling vapor of the refrigerant (R) in the refrigerant circulation flowpath; a superconducting coil cooled by the circulating refrigerant (R); a protective resistor thermally contacting the superconducting coil and having an internal space (S); a high-boiling-point refrigerant supply section for supplying a high-boiling-point refrigerant having a higher boiling point than the refrigerant (R) and frozen by the refrigerant (R) to the internal space (S) in the protective resistor; and a vacuum insulating container for at least accommodating the refrigerant circulation flowpath, the superconducting coil, and the protective resistor.

Superconducting electromagnet device, cooling method therefor, and magnetic resonance imaging device

A superconducting magnet apparatus includes: a bobbin around which a superconducting coil is wound, the bobbin serving as a protective resistor; a persistent current switch for supplying a persistent current to the superconducting coil; a first closed circuit with the superconducting coil and the persistent current switch connected in series to the coil; and a second closed circuit with the superconducting coil and the bobbin connected in series to the coil.

Superconducting magnet apparatus

The electromagnet apparatuses generate a homogeneous magnetic field in a homogeneous magnetic field region by a pair of superconductive main coils for facing to each other; a pair of superconductive shielding coils for facing to each other and passing a current in a direction reverse to that of the main coils; and a pair of first ferromagnetic members for facing to each other, and the apparatuses further include a pair of second ferromagnetic members for facing to each other and be disposed in contact with or adjacent to an opposite side of the region side of the first ferromagnetic members, wherein the region is interposed between the main coils, between the shielding coils, between the first members whose outer periphery is a circle, and between the second members whose outer periphery is a circle whose diameter is larger than that of the circle of the first members.

Electromagnet apparatus generating a homogeneous magnetic field with ferromagnetic members arranged inside cryogenic vessels

A panel instrument to be mounted in a panel board, including: a main body having an outside dimension applicable to a first and a second panel instrument size standards; a display provided on one end of the main body and having an area that occupies a part of a front face of the panel board and is applicable to the first panel instrument size standard; a front panel mounted on a front face of the display; and a rear panel for holding the display with the front panel, wherein the rear panel has: first mounting holes that are provided on one diagonal line of the rear panel and correspond to a mounting hole standard applicable to the second panel instrument size standard; and second mounting holes that are provided on the other diagonal line and correspond to a mounting hole standard applicable to a third panel instrument size standard.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Manabu Aoki