Split shield for magnetic resonance imaging

Abstract

Narrower conductive strips are provided in a segmented RF shield to reduce the gradient coil power loss attributable to the shield. Narrower conductive strips reduce the eddy current losses experienced by the gradient coil, thereby reducing the power required to operate the gradient coil, especially in high speed imaging where high frequencies up to 10 KHz are used. The conductive strips can be made sufficiently narrow to substantially reduce the gradient coil power loss attributable to the shield. When these strips are made in this manner, a third conductive layer may be placed over a transition region where there is a substantial change in the direction of the conductive strips. In such a transition region, RF current tends to travel in curved paths across the pattern of conductive strips instead of along the lengths of the strips, with resulting decrease in coil quality factor, Q. The third conductive layer provides a lower impedance path for RF currents in the transition region, to reduce RF power loss. An ancillary conductor is connected to the RF shield in such a manner as to be insulated from the shield at the lower frequencies at which the gradient coil operates but capacitively connected at RF frequencies.