Varian, Inc.

Nancy Winward

Thomas De Swiet

Marco A Romo

A radio-frequency (RF) coil for a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) probe includes rounded longitudinal conductors connecting end rings formed by sheets. The rounded conductors can be formed by curled sheets or wires. The rounded conductors allow reduced RF losses at the coil window edges, and thus allow increased coil sensitivities. The rounded conductors also allow increased coil sensitivities for an orthogonal coil, by allowing increased transparency to the magnetic field generated by the orthogonal coil. A curled-sheet RF coil can be generated from a single etched sheet by curling longitudinal sections of the sheet into tubular longitudinal conductors. To make such a coil, each longitudinal section is inserted into a longitudinal slot of a sheet-curling member, and the member is rotated about its longitudinal axis. As the curling member is rotated, the longitudinal sheet section wraps around the curling member and becomes curled. The curling member can be provided as part of a sheet-curling tool including two transverse plates for securing the coil into place between the plates, and a set of guides allowing the longitudinal motion of one plate relative to the other.

Growing community of inventors

Milpitas, CA, United States of America

Nancy Winward