Integrated single-sourced cooling of superconducting magnets and rf coils in nuclear magnetic resonance devices

Abstract

A method and a system are disclosed for obtaining imaging data using a MRI system configured to provide accurate images with high Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) using superconducting magnets with field strengths in the range of 0.5 Tesla (T) to 3 T. The MRI includes a scanning bore deployed within a Cryogen-Free (CF) conduction-cooled superconducting magnet. The CF may have two stages, in which one stage cools a radiation shield down to a mid-level temperature, such as 35-80 degrees Kelvin (K), and the second stage cools the cold-mass further down to about 3-6 degrees K. The two-stage CF cryocooloer is used to cool target bodies of the superconducting magnet system and the receiving RF coil to create a higher SNR relative to when RF coils are not cooled. Sapphire sheets or bars may be used to cool the RF coils because sapphire conducts heat but not electricity, reducing electrical noise.