General Electric Company

Michele Dollar Ogle

Evangelos Trifon Laskaris

Bizhan Dorri

Michael Anthony Palmo, Jr

Xianrui Huang

Paul Shadforth Thompson

Bu-Xin Xu

Timothy John Havens

Bulent Aksel

William D Barber

Bruce Campbell Amm

Madabushi V Chari

Johannes Martinus Van Oort

Gerald Burt Kliman

Minfeng Xu

Gary Bedrosian

Steven Ho-Chong Wong

Michael A Palmo

Michael Anthony Palmo

Robert Sethfield Smith

An open magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) device is provided with at least one main coil for generating a magnetic field for imaging a volume, and at least one shaping coil. The at least one shaping coil is positioned relative to the at least one main coil to shape the magnetic field in the volume.

Cold mass support structure and helium vessel of actively shielded high field open MRI magnets

A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) device for imaging a volume is provided with at least one main magnet for generating a magnetic field, and at least one gradient coil for manipulating the magnetic field generated by the at least one main magnet to image the volume. The magnetic fields generated by the at least one gradient coil are substantially unshielded.

Conduction cooled passively-shielded MRI magnet

A method is presented for manufacturing laminate tile metal pole pieces for an MRI. Each laminate tile has a trapezoidal or annular sector shape. The trapezoidal shape allows the tiles to be attached side by side to form a multiple concentric annular array pole piece without using oddly shaped edge filler tiles needed to fill a circular pole piece with square tiles. The pole piece is made by placing a plurality of tiles into a mold and filling the mold with an adhesive substance to bind the plurality of tiles into a unitary tile body. The unitary tile body is then removed from the mold and attached to a pole piece base to form the pole piece. The mold cavity surface preferably has a non-uniform contour. The bottom surface of the unitary tile body forms a substantially inverse contour of the mold cavity surface contour.

Method of making a pole piece for an MRI

A laminate tile pole piece for an MRI, a method and a mold for manufacturing laminate tile metal pole pieces for an MRI. Each laminate tile has a trapezoidal or annular sector shape. The trapezoidal shape allows the tiles to be attached side by side to form a multiple concentric annular array pole piece without using oddly shaped edge filler tiles needed to fill a circular pole piece with square tiles. The pole piece is made by placing a plurality of tiles into a mold and filling the mold with an adhesive substance to bind the plurality of tiles into a unitary tile body. The unitary tile body is then removed from the mold and attached to a pole piece base to form the pole piece. The mold cavity surface preferably has a non-uniform contour. The bottom surface of the unitary tile body forms a substantially inverse contour of the mold cavity surface contour.

Mold for bonding MRI pole piece tiles and method of making the mold

A laminate tile pole piece for an MRI. Each laminate tile has a trapezoidal or annular sector shape. The trapezoidal shape allows the tiles to be attached side by side to form a multiple concentric annular array pole piece without using oddly shaped edge filler tiles needed to fill a circular pole piece with square tiles. The pole piece is made by placing a plurality of tiles into a mold and filling the mold with an adhesive substance to bind the plurality of tiles into a unitary tile body. The unitary tile body is then removed from the mold and attached to a pole piece base to form the pole piece. The mold cavity surface preferably has a non-uniform contour. The bottom surface of the unitary tile body forms a substantially inverse contour of the mold cavity surface contour.

Laminate tile pole piece for an MRI, a method manufacturing the pole piece and a mold bonding pole piece tiles

A magnet, such as a closed, superconductive, magnetic-resonance-imaging (MRI) magnet, includes a main coil and includes a shielding coil positioned radially outward from the main coil. A magnetizable member is positioned radially outward from the main coil and radially inward from the shielding coil to supplement the strength, and increase the homogeneity of, the magnetic field created, at least in part, by the main coil and to supplement the shielding provided, at least in part, by the shielding coil.

Magnet having shielding

A magnet, such as a closed, superconductive, magnetic-resonance-imaging (MRI) magnet includes a main coil, a correction coil, and a shielding coil positioned radially outward from the main and correction coils. Two magnetizable members are positioned radially outward from the main and correction coils and radially inward from the shielding coil to shorten the magnet, to supplement the strength, and increase the homogeneity of, the magnetic field created, at least in part, by the main and correction coils and to supplement the shielding provided, at least in part, by the shielding coil.

Magnet including shielding

A magnet, such as a closed, superconductive, magnetic-resonance-imaging (MRI) magnet includes a main coil, a magnetizable article, and a shielding coil positioned radially outward from the main coil and magnetizable article. Two magnetizable members are positioned radially outward from the main coil and magnetizable article and radially inward from the shielding coil to supplement the strength, and increase the homogeneity of, the magnetic field created, at least in part, by the main coil and magnetizable article and to supplement the shielding provided, at least in part, by the shielding coil.

Magnet with shielding

A method for shimming a magnetic resonance imaging magnet requiring higher magnetic field homogneity on a small imaging volume and by magnetic field measurements on a larger volume providing small measurement error and practical field strength measurements and utilizing the spherical harmonic coefficients of the measurements.

Unified shimming for magnetic resonance superconducting magnets

An open magnet useful in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) applications. The magnet has two spaced-apart assemblies. Each assembly has a shielding coil located longitudinally outward from a main coil, a magnetizable member not carrying an electric current and spaced apart from and proximate the main and shielding coils, and a magnetizable pole piece spaced apart from the magnetizable member: The method of the invention generates a magnetic field in a first area between the two assemblies while shielding a second area not between the two assemblies from a stray magnetic field by creating the previously-described open magnet.

Open magnet having shielding

An open magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) magnet having first and second spaced-apart superconductive coil assemblies each including a toroidal-shaped coil housing containing a superconductive main coil at least partially immersed in a cryogenic fluid such as liquid helium. A generally-non-permanently-magnetized ferromagnetic ring is associated with each coil assembly, being generally coaxially aligned with the associated coil assembly and being spaced radially inward and radially apart from the associated coil assembly's superconductive main coil. The ferromagnetic rings overcome the gross magnetic field distortions in the imaging volume of the superconductive main coils (created by the open space between the magnet's superconductive coil assemblies) to produce a magnetic field of high uniformity within the imaging volume.

Cryogenic-fluid-cooled open MRI magnet with uniform magnetic field

An open superconductive magnet useful in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) applications. The magnet has two spaced apart assemblies, wherein each assembly has a magnetizable pole piece and a magnetizable ring radially spaced outwardly apart from, and at least partially longitudinally overlapping, the pole piece. A superconductive main coil is positioned radially between the pole piece and the ring. A superconductive shielding coil is positioned radially outward from the superconductive main coil and longitudinally outward from the longitudinally outer end of the ring.

Open and shielded superconductive magnet

A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) magnet includes different-diameter, longitudinally-proximate, first and second coil form segments. First and second superconductive coils are wound, respectively, around the first and second coil form segments. A first spacer ring is attached to the first coil form segment and longitudinally abuts a lateral side of the first superconductive coil, and a second spacer ring circumferentially surrounds and is attached to the second coil form segment and longitudinally abuts a lateral side of the second superconductive coil. Two or more circumferentially-spaced-apart plate members are attached to, and extend radially outward from, the first and second spacer rings.

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Burnt Hills, NY, United States of America

Michele Dollar Ogle