General Electric Company

Ge Medical Systems Technology Company, LLC

Randall Henry Buchwald

Robert Steven Stormont

Juan Manuel Rivas Davila

William Todd Peterson

Robert R Lijewski

Ralph S Hashoian

Michael Denzin

David E Lyle

Jeffrey P Noonan

Karl T Richards

Ceylan Celil Guelu

Donald R Jansta

Gary L Mrotek

A switched mode power supply (SMPS) employs only energy storage components that are devoid of ferromagnetic materials. The SMPS operates only at switching frequencies such that any potential electromagnetic interference of interest is generated at frequencies appearing only outside the imaging bandwidth of a corresponding magnetic resonance imaging system powered by the SMPS.

Magnetic resonance imaging compatible switched mode power supply

A power supply with a piezoelectric transformer is provided. A method for power conversion is also provided. The power supply includes a piezoelectric transformer and an oscillator circuit connected to the piezoelectric transformer. The oscillator circuit controls a sinusoidal voltage waveform at an input of the piezoelectric transformer to drive the piezoelectric transformer.

Power supply with a piezoelectric transformer and method for power conversion

An RF receiver apparatus for translating multiple channels of MR data across a single readout cable is disclosed. The RF receiver apparatus is designed to separately translate In-phase and Quadrature components of an MR signal to a data acquisition system for signal processing. Moreover, multiple channels of In-phase and Quadrature signals may be transmitted as composite signals to the data acquisition system across a single coaxial cable. The composite signals may then be filtered to recover the multiple channels of data. The RF receiver apparatus is particularly applicable with a phased-array coil architecture.

MR receiver assembly having readout cables capable of multiple channel transmissions

A system and a method for testing a Radio Frequency (RF) device are provided. The system includes a light emitting source configured to transmit an optical test signal based on an RF signal and a detector provided as a part of the RF device and configured to detect the transmitted optical test signal.

System and methods for testing operation of a radio frequency device

A transient noise detection system includes an imaging system having a magnetic field coil and an imaging bore. The imaging system generates an imaging signal through a signal cable, wherein the imaging signal is corruptible by a noise event. A noise event detector is positioned outside of the imaging bore and proximate to the signal cable. This detector detects the noise event from the signal cable and generates a noise signal therefrom.

Method and system for improving transient noise detection

A magnetic resonance imaging system has a electromagnet coil assembly for exciting nuclei of an animal placed within the assembly and a mechanism to receive magnetic resonance signals from the nuclei and reconstruct an image of the animal from those signals. A plethysmograph is provided to sense the peripheral arterial pulse of the animal and gate the MRI system. A sensor for the plethysmograph includes a fiber optic cable having a pair of optical fibers which extend into the magnet assembly. A probe is connected to one end of the cable and is adapted to be attached to a digit of the animal so that ends of the optical fibers are adjacent the animal's skin. The other end of the cable couples to a circuit which sends light through one of the optical fibers to the probe, and which receives light returned from the probe through the other optical fiber. The circuit produces an electrical signal corresponding to the intensity of light received from the other optical fiber.

Fiber optic photoplethysmograph for a magnetic resonance imaging system

An electrode assembly, particularly useful in nuclear magnetic resonance apparatus, for sensing a physical characteristic of a live study subject includes an electrode positioned in electrical contact with the subject for sensing the physical characteristic. The electrode assembly further includes a lead wire connected at one of its ends to the electrode and having an impedance selected to protect the study subject from heating. The impedance is also selected to have a low voltage coefficient of resistivity in order to prevent conversion of radio-frequency energy to ECG in-band energy.

Controlled impedance monitoring lead wires

As CRT display is housed in a magnetic shield to reduce the image distortions caused by the external magnetic field produced by an NMR scanner. To further improve image quality, three sets of compensating coils are positioned around the CRT display and inside the shield to produce magnetic fields which offset the effects of the residual external magnetic field components that penetrate the shield or enter through the window in the shield used to view the CRT screen.

CRT magnetic field compensation

There is provided a power source for continuously energizing electrically isolated devices used to monitor the physiological state of a subject undergoing an examination in an NMR scanner having a magnet, RF and gradient coils. The power source is made up of a first element for generating energy of one type and a second element for receiving this energy and converting it to a second energy type used to energize the electrically isolated devices. The first and second elements are operatively coupled to one another through an electrically isolated medium to permit continuous transfer of energy from the first to the second element and to reject interference due to the NMR apparatus subsystems. In one embodiment the first element may be an array of light-emitting diodes, while the second element may be an array of photovoltaic cells. In another embodiment, the first and second elements may be ultrasonic transducers coupled through air or a ceramic substrate.

Growing community of inventors

Waukesha, WI, United States of America

Randall Henry Buchwald