General Electric Company

Robert W Newman

Daniel Joseph Schaefer

Ralph S Hashoian

Thomas J Sierocuk

A radio frequency coil for an magnetic resonance imaging system is integrated into a disposable surgical drape to permit imaging during a surgical procedure. The drape is formed by two sheets of flexible material with an adhesive applied to an exposed surface for adhering the drape to skin of a patient. A flexible radio frequency coil, tuned to the Larmor frequency, is sealed between the two sheets and surrounds an area of the drape through which an incision is made during surgery on the patient. A layer of material that is resistant to penetration by surgical instruments covers and protects the radio frequency coil during surgery.

Surgical drape with integral MRI coil

There is provided a phantom for measuring a performance parameter of a nuclear magnetic resonance scanner capable of acquiring NMR data from a study object. The phantom is made up of a housing composed of a substantially non-NMR-active material, and positionable in use within a radio-frequency coil forming part of an NMR scanner. The phantom further includes a first medium disposed within the housing to load the radio frequency coil in a manner similar to that of a patient. The NMR properties of the medium are further selected such that an NMR signal, if any, produced by the medium occurs at a time other than when a performance parameter of said NMR scanner is measured. In the preferred embodiment, the phantom comprises two concentrically disposed cylinders of different diameters and a pair of end plates fastened to opposite ends of the cylinders. The first medium is disposed within the volume defined between the side walls of the cylinders and the end plates. A second medium is disposed within the volume defined within the innermost cylinder and generates the NMR test signals.

Phantom for performance evaluation of a nuclear magnetic resonance

Three-dimensional NMR phantom includes in the preferred embodiment a set of three mutually orthogonal test plates each configured to enable testing NMR scanner performance in each of the planes containing the plates. The plates are further arranged so as to be simultaneously positionable, in use, at the isocenter of the NMR scanner to permit testing NMR scanner performance in each plane without repositioning the phantom.

Growing community of inventors

Milwaukee, WI, United States of America

Robert W Newman