Imris, Inc.

Wayne Schellekens

Haoqin Zhu

Labros Petropoulos

Mehran Fallah-Rad

John Saunders

Gordon Scarth

Mark Alexiuk

Alexander Shvartsberg

Meir Dahan

Kirk Champagne

Michael Lang

Claude Turenne

Vlajko Srzic

In MR imaging in a suite of rooms including a diagnostic room and a second surgical room, the magnet includes a diagnostic table separable from a docking station of the magnet and the second room includes a second surgical table. An imaging control computer controls operation of the imaging system and a movement control computer controls operation of the magnet moving system and the patient support table. During imaging in the surgical room, the diagnostic table is separated and docked at a secondary docking station while an emulating computer system cooperate with the imaging control computer system by emulating outputs from the disconnected diagnostic table for controlling operation of the imaging system.

MR imaging in separate rooms using a magnet having a diagnostic table

An phased array RF coil used for MR imaging is designed so that it remains in place in the field of view of an X-Ray imaging system and comprises a support board on which copper or aluminum conductive traces are carried. The attenuation of the X-Rays caused by the traces is visible in the radiation image but this is compensated by arranging the non-conductive material of the support board such that the attenuation is substantially constant. The phased array includes individual coil loops which are overlapped with the traces being of half thickness at crossing locations of the traces and with one of the loops on one side and the other loop on the second side of the substrate sheet.

Phased array MR RF coil which is not visible in X-ray image

The receive coil arrangement includes an inner coil adjacent the part to be imaged so as to maximize the received MR signal and an outer coil, which may be the built in body coil of the magnet, connected by cable to the signal processing system. Both the coils are individually tuned to the common resonant frequency and the receive coil include an arrangement to halt current flow therein during the transmit stage. The first coil has no cable and is arranged to communicate the MR signal therein to the signal processing system through the outer coil by inducing the MR signal onto the outer coil. Despite inherent losses by interfering with the tuning of the loops and in the inductive coupling this magnifies the MR signal and makes the first coil wireless. Arrangements are provided for generating from the output of the second coil separate signals for separate channels of the signal processing unit.

Magnetic resonance signal detection using remotely positioned receive coils

An apparatus for intra-operative MRI includes a patient table with a movable magnet and an RF coil having an upper portion and a lower portion. The upper portion is formed of a foam material flexible to different shapes with a pair of stiffeners formed of connected pivotal elements extending from a central back-bone embedded in the top sheet of the foam to hold the flexible material in the different shapes and is carried at one end of a flexible foam arm attached to a side rail of the table and stiffened by a longitudinal stiffener. A head clamp is attached to the table with a C-shaped holder for the skull clamp pins. The lower coil is movable by flexing about longitudinal lines to different curvatures and is held channel shaped by the C-shaped holder. It is attached at one longitudinal end to an adjustable mount connected to the head clamp.

RF coil assembly for use in magnetic resonance imaging

An RF coil used for MR imaging is designed so that it remains in place in the field of view of an X-Ray imaging system and comprises a support board on which copper conductive traces and copper printed capacitors are carried. The attenuation of the X-Rays caused by the copper traces is visible in the radiation image but this is compensated by arranging the non-conductive material of the support board such that the attenuation of substantially the whole of the RF coil located within the field of view is substantially constant throughout the field of view.

RF coil for MR imaging which is not visible in X-ray image

The receive coil arrangement includes an inner local volume coil adjacent the part to be imaged so as to maximize the received MR signal and an outer coil, which may be the built in body coil of the magnet, connected by cable to the signal processing system. Both the coils are individually tuned to the common resonant frequency and the local volume coil include an arrangement to halt current flow therein during the transmit stage. The local volume coil has no cable and is arranged to communicate the MR signal therein to the signal processing system through the outer coil by inductive coupling to the outer coil. Despite inherent losses by interfering with the tuning of the loops and in the inductive coupling this magnifies the MR signal and makes the local volume coil wireless.

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Winnipeg, Canada

Wayne Schellekens