General Electric Company

Ge Medical Systems Global Technology Company, LLC

The United States of America, as Represented by the Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services

Timothy William Skloss

Robert Michael Vavrek

Daniel Joseph Weyers

Murali Krishna Cherukuri

Ricardo Becerra

Jonathan Alan Murray

Daniel Joseph Schaefer

Dewain Anthony Purgill

Jan Henrik Ardenkjaer-Larsen

Nallathamby Devasahayam

Steven Christopher Davis

Ceylan Celil Guclu

Roman I Dachniwskyj

Marcelino Bernardo

Jan Henrik Ardenkjaer Larsen

A system and method for transporting a hyperpolarized substance is disclosed. A transport vessel for transporting such a hyperpolarized substance includes a vessel housing, a chamber formed within the vessel housing that is configured to receive a container holding a hyperpolarized substance, and an electromagnet configured to generate a magnetic containment field about the chamber when a current is supplied thereto, the magnetic containment field comprising a homogeneous magnetic field. The transport vessel also includes a non-magnetic power source to supply the current to the electromagnet and a control circuit configured to selectively interrupt the supply of current to the electromagnet so as to control generation of the magnetic containment field, with the transport vessel being magnetically inert when the supply of current to the electromagnet is interrupted by the control circuit.

Hyperpolarized media transport vessel

A system and method including an apparatus for use in electrically loading RF coils of an MRI system is disclosed. The apparatus includes a polymer interdispersed with an electrically conductive additive such that the apparatus provides the necessary electrical loading of the RF coils for testing and calibration of the MRI system but is free of liquid. Furthermore, the apparatus is capable of providing the requisite electrical load in high magnet magnetic fields without introducing image distortion as a result of standing waves within the apparatus.

System and method of electrically loading radio-frequency coils using conductive polymers

A system and method for mimicking a human brain for MR imaging at various magnetic field strengths is disclosed. A phantom is constructed of a structure having a number of sections. A first section contains a mixture of nickel chloride, agarose gel powder, potassium sorbate, deuterium oxide, and water such that the T1, T2, and proton density values of the first section mimic white matter of the human brain. A second section contains different amounts of the same components such that the T1, T2, and proton density values of the second section mimic gray matter of the human brain. As such, when the phantom is scanned in an MR imaging machine, an optimized flip angle for T1-weighted imaging to improve contrast between white matter and gray matter of the human brain that takes into account proton density differences therebetween can be determined.

Apparatus to simulate MR properties of human brain for MR applications evaluation

A method for reducing the calibration time of magnetic imaging resonance systems at fields of 1 Tesla or higher utilizing silicone oil type phantom tanks. A small amount of a non-ionic paramagnetic compound such as gadolinium beta-diketonate (a common metallocomplex) is added to the silicone oil to reduce the spin-lattice relaxation time of the silicone oil in magnetic resonance phantoms. The amount of reduction of the spin lattice relaxation time is inversely proportional to the amount of paramagnetic compound added to the silicone oil in a given phantom tank and thus can be controlled in a precise manner.

Method for reducing spin-lattice relaxation time of silicone fluids used in magnetic resonance imaging

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Waukesha, WI, United States of America

Timothy William Skloss