The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 02, 1993
Filed:
Mar. 27, 1992
Robert D Black, Charlton, NY (US);
Peter B Roemer, Schenectady, NY (US);
Antonio A Mogro-Campero, Niskayuna, NY (US);
Larry G Turner, Schenectady, NY (US);
General Electric Company, Schenectady, NY (US);
Abstract
An apparatus for microscopic imaging employing nuclear magnetic resonance is constructed from a cryogenic probe which is situated in a conventional magnetic resonance imaging system. The cryogenic probe employs a number of chambers and cryogenic liquids which cool a superconductor resonator to very low temperatures. A sample tube for containing a small specimen is heated to a temperature above its freezing point by flowing nitrogen gas over the specimen. A secondary resonant circuit is inductively coupled to the superconducting resonator. A transceiver passes RF signals to be transmitted into the specimen through the secondary resonant circuit causing the superconducting resonator to transmit the RF signal into the specimen. The resonator then acts as a receive coil and receives a signal from the specimen which is inductively passed to the secondary resonator circuit from which an image is generated. The use of superconductors having low resistance and low temperatures causes noise to be significantly reduced, and the signal-to-noise ratio to be substantially increased.