Canon Medical Systems Corporation

Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation

Sojiyuuro Kato

Kazuyuki Soejima

Haruki Nakamura

Kazuya Okamoto

Yoshinori Hamamura

Mark Spring

Takahiro Kobayashi

A patient couch for use in a medical imaging system that includes a gantry, a power supply unit and a driving unit for positioning the patient couch with respect to the gantry. The patient couch includes at least a first connector for supplying a wireless coil (e.g., a radio frequency (RF) coil for an MRI imaging apparatus) with power. The patient couch is detachably connected to the gantry. The power supply is configured to supply the first connector with power and an optional clock synchronization signal.

Medical imaging apparatus including a gantry and a couch having built-in power connectors

A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to an embodiment includes first generating circuitry and second generating circuitry. The first generating circuitry interpolates a first data string of digital data including envelope information of a radio frequency (RF) pulse to be output, thereby generating a second data string in which a variation amount of digital data adjacent to each other in the first data string is smaller than an upper limit value. The second generating circuitry generates a signal of the RF pulse by combining the second data string generated by the first generating circuitry and information relating to a carrier wave of the RF pulse, and outputs the signal to an RF amplifier.

Magnetic resonance imaging apparatus

In one embodiment, an MRI apparatus includes a wireless RF coil; a control side oscillator configured to output a control-side clock signal used for executing a pulse sequence; and a synchronization signal transmission circuit configured to wirelessly transmit a synchronization signal to the wireless RF coil in an executing period of the pulse sequence, except an MR-signal detection period during which the wireless RF coil detects a magnetic resonance signal, wherein the synchronization signal is within a frequency band of a Larmor frequency and reflects a phase of the control-side clock signal.

An apparatus for measuring radio frequency output for a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus includes a directional coupler, a signal controller and a converter. The directional coupler is variable in degree of coupling, and configured to attenuate a radio frequency signal which is generated in a radio frequency signal generator and amplified in a radio frequency power amplifier. The signal controller is configured to control the degree of coupling of the directional coupler. The converter is configured to perform a digital conversion of the radio frequency signal from the directional coupler so as to output a digital signal.

Magnetic resonance imaging apparatus and apparatus for measuring radio frequency output for the same

An apparatus for measuring radio frequency output for a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus includes a plurality of directional couplers, a comparator, a switcher and a converter. The plurality of directional couplers are different in degree of coupling from each other, and attenuate an RF signal which is generated in an RF signal generator and amplified in an RF power amplifier. The comparator compares input-level information of a signal inputted into the RF power amplifier with a threshold value. The switcher switches to any one of the plurality of the directional couplers based on a result of the comparison so as to output an RF signal by the one directional coupler. The converter performs a digital conversion of the RF signal from the one directional coupler so as to output a digital signal.

Growing community of inventors

Nasushiobara, Japan

Sojiyuuro Kato