一种用于开放式MRI的射频发射线圈设计

介绍了一种用于开放式MRI系统的射频发射线圈. 此发射线圈为上下2个相同的线圈,分别安装在磁体的2极,两线圈采用非对称的正交方式放置. 线圈为矩形螺线管结构,通过电磁场数值计算的方法对线圈的匝间距进行了优化,使线圈在300 mm的球形区域内达到偏差不超过3 dB的均匀性要求. 根据优化结果制作了一套用于0.23 T开放式MRI系统的发射线圈,并对线圈的均匀性及射频发射的效率进行了测试. 测试结果表明,线圈具有较高的发射效率和较好的均匀性,由此验证了设计方案的可行性.     

An object-oriented designed finite-difference time-domain simulator for electromagnetic analysis and design in MRI--applications to high field analyses

This paper presents a finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulator for electromagnetic analysis and design applications in MRI. It is intended to be a complete FDTD model of an MRI system including all RF and low-frequency field generating units and electrical models of the patient. The program has been constructed in an object-oriented framework. The design procedure is detailed and the numerical solver has been verified against analytical solutions for simple cases and also applied to various field calculation problems. In particular, the simulator is demonstrated for inverse RF coil design, optimized source profile generation, and parallel imaging in high-frequency situations. The examples show new developments enabled by the simulator and demonstrate that the proposed FDTD framework can be used to analyze large-scale computational electromagnetic problems in modern MRI engineering.     

一种可拆装式的脑外科手术用磁共振成像线圈

在临床磁共振成像(MRI)应用中,射频线圈的设计是非常关键的,针对不同的应用目的,合适的线圈能获得质量更好的图像. 有的应用需要线圈提供均匀性较好的射频场,而有的应用则需要线圈在特定区域内提供高的信噪比(SNR). 但是线圈很难同时得到好的射频场（B₁场）、空间均匀性和高的SNR,需要根据实际应用情况进行折衷设计. 针对MRI在脑外科手术中的应用特点,设计并制作了一种新颖的、适用于脑外科手术的MRI接收和发射共用射频线圈. 该线圈采用可分拆式结构,在脑外科手术支架上可以进行反复组装和拆卸,减少了MRI对医生手术的影响. 仿真结果和人体成像实验表明,该线圈能产生均匀的射频场、有较高的SNR和较大的成像范围,满足脑外科手术的需要.     

高温超导磁共振成像射频接收线圈的研究

为了提高低场磁共振成像系统的信噪比,提出了具有失谐电路的Bi2223带高温超导射频接收线圈.该线圈采用了电耦合方式传输超导谐振回路的磁共振信号,这种方式有利于进一步制成正交结构或相阵结构的超导接收线圈.为了防止趋肤效应降低超导接收线圈的性能,采用化学腐蚀的方法先将超导带的包套去掉,然后再制成超导主谐振电感.采用一种双探测线圈法对高温超导接收线圈和相同结构的常规铜线圈的Q值进行了测量,结果表明超导接收线圈比常规铜线圈的Q值约高一倍.     

An optimization method for designing SENSE imaging RF coil arrays

An optimization method in RF coil array design for SENSE imaging is described. Using this method the optimized RF coil geometries can be calculated numerically given the required SENSE imaging performance. Although this method can be applied to optimize the RF coil arrays for both 1D and 2D SENSE imaging, to demonstrate the potential applications of this method, we designed RF coil arrays for 2D SENSE imaging and compared their performance by simulation. An optimized 4-channel receive-only RF coil array designed for 2D SENSE imaging was implemented and tested to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed technique. Imaging results showed reasonable agreement with the simulations, thus the method can be applied to RF coil array designs for SENSE imaging when optimum imaging performance is desired.     

磁多极场场参数的理论计算与分析

根据磁多极场的对称性，首先导出了磁多极场磁场分量的泰勒级数展开式，定义了磁多极场的场参数，然后根据毕奥-萨伐尔定律，导出了马鞍型磁多极场线圈的场参数理论计算公式.对各个场参数数量级的大小进行了分析，找出了场参数的递推规律，给出了场参数高阶导数的计算方法，从而能够准确计算整个空间的磁场值.还从简单单根导线计算结果过渡到多根导线或具有某种连续分布的情况. 这对于磁二极场、磁四极场、磁六极场等的应用提供了可靠的理论依据. 关键词： 磁多极场 场参数 马鞍型线圈     

Electric field measurements and computational modeling at ultrahigh-field MRI

While magnetic resonance images essentially contain a map of the both circularly polarized components of the RF transverse magnetic fields (B(1) field), the thermal heat and electromagnetic power deposition is generated by the associated electric fields. Measurement of electric field distributions/intensities across a sample yields an indirect indication of possible cause of heating within the sample and potentially enables the detection of "hot spots," which can be present within inhomogeneous radiofrequency (RF) fields, such as the case with magnetic resonance imaging at high field strength. As a result, establishing a valid technique for direct measurements of the electric field and its correlation, obtained using computational electromagnetics, is essential in assessing (1) the safety of the RF coil designs and (2) the validity of the calculations. In this work, a probe was built and used to measure the transverse electric field (E(1) field) distributions within an empty 8 T (tuned to 340 MHz) RF head coil and within a saline water phantom loaded in the same coil. The measured E(1) field distributions were favorably compared to the distributions obtained utilizing a finite difference time domain in-house package.     

B1 transmit phase gradient coil for single-axis TRASE RF encoding

Purpose

TRASE (Transmit Array Spatial Encoding) MRI uses RF transmit phase gradients instead of B₀ field gradients for k-space traversal and high-resolution MR image formation. Transmit coil performance is a key determinant of TRASE image quality. The purpose of this work is to design an optimized RF transmit phase gradient array for spatial encoding in a transverse direction (x- or y- axis) for a 0.2 T vertical B₀ field MRI system, using a single transmitter channel. This requires the generation of two transmit B₁ RF fields with uniform amplitude and positive and negative linear phase gradients respectively over the imaging volume.

Materials and Methods

A two-element array consisting of a double Maxwell-type coil and a Helmholtz-type coil was designed using 3D field simulations. The phase gradient polarity is set by the relative phase of the RF signals driving the simultaneously energized elements.

Results

Field mapping and 1D TRASE imaging experiments confirmed that the constructed coil produced the fields and operated as designed. A substantially larger imaging volume relative to that obtainable from a non-optimized Maxwell-Helmholtz design was achieved.

Conclusion

The Maxwell (sine)–Helmholtz (cosine) approach has proven successful for a horizontal phase gradient coil. A similar approach may be useful for other phase-gradient coil designs.     

A distributed equivalent magnetic current based FDTD method for the calculation of E-fields induced by gradient coils

This paper evaluates a new, low-frequency finite-difference time-domain method applied to the problem of induced E-fields/eddy currents in the human body resulting from the pulsed magnetic field gradients in MRI. In this algorithm, a distributed equivalent magnetic current is proposed as the electromagnetic source and is obtained by quasistatic calculation of the empty coil's vector potential or measurements therein. This technique circumvents the discretization of complicated gradient coil geometries into a mesh of Yee cells, and thereby enables any type of gradient coil modelling or other complex low frequency sources. The proposed method has been verified against an example with an analytical solution. Results are presented showing the spatial distribution of gradient-induced electric fields in a multi-layered spherical phantom model and a complete body model.     

Traveling Internal Plane-wave Synthesis (TIPS) for uniform B1 in high field MRI

A new target-field approach to generating uniform radio frequency (RF) fields within the human body for high field MRI is described. The method involves producing a set of external fields which, after interaction with a dielectric object, superimpose to produce a traveling plane wave, exposing all spins to the same RF amplitude (B1) over a cycle of the harmonic field. Conceptually this is similar to conventional RF shimming, but uses a different RF source design, input data, and objective function. The method requires a detailed knowledge of the coupling between exterior field modes, produced by an array of RF sources, and field modes within the body. Given an estimate of the coupling matrix, the linear superposition of external modes that produces a desired internal target field can be determined. The new method is termed Traveling Internal Plane-wave Synthesis (TIPS). A simple design of a coil array is described that can, in principle, generate the required field modes. Simulations demonstrate that radio frequency magnetic fields of nearly uniform (< 1% variation) magnitude can be produced within dielectric objects larger than a wavelength in size. If the dielectric medium has non-zero conductivity, traveling waves are attenuated as they traverse the object, but field uniformity within planar slices is preserved. For general 3D imaging, a superposition of plane waves can provide field focusing to balance conductive losses, thereby achieving nearly uniform-magnitude B1+ magnetic fields over a volume of interest.     

Bi系高温超导磁共振成像射频接收线圈的成像研究

射频接收线圈是磁共振成像系统输入通道的第一级,提高接收线圈的信噪比可以提高系统的图像质量.对于低场磁共振成像系统,如果能够降低常规铜接收线圈的等效串联电阻,就能够提高其信噪比.由于高温超导材料的直流电阻为零,交流传输损耗也远小于铜,采用高温超导材料制作磁共振接收线圈能够提高信噪比.本文采用Bi2223带材,设计、制作了超导接收线圈,并在0.23 T的磁共振成像系统中进行了成像实验.结果表明,超导接收线圈的图像信噪比比常规铜线圈提高约76%.     

低场永磁体磁共振射频场映像

射频场映像是通过一定算法对磁共振射频线圈的发射场进行重建的方法.高场下的射频场经过生物组织时会发生明显变化,在其基础上可以反演生物组织体内电特性,进而对癌症等疾病进行早期诊断,是对生物组织的磁共振结构成像的有力补充.目前为止,射频场映像和电特性研究都以高场鸟笼线圈为主,对低场下的相控阵研究较少.本文主要研究了低场永磁体磁共振射频场的均匀度.有限元仿真和实验验证了在17.8 MHz激励下,射频场在空载和负载下均匀度均发生较大变化.射频场均匀度在负载下的改变在一定程度上可以反映负载生物组织的电特性,对磁共振电特性实用化研究提供了一定的参考价值.     

Inverse design of an organ-oriented RF coil for open,vertical-field,MR-guided,focused ultrasound surgery

The advantages of open, vertical-field, magnetic resonance-guided, focused ultrasound surgery (MRgFUS) are attractive. The inverse technique using the bi-boundary conditions is proposed to design a uterine-oriented intraoperative RF coil with an ultrasound aperture for the MRgFUS system. In the current proposed scheme, the desired magnetic field of the RF coil was set to completely overlap the target organ. The current density distribution on the RF coil surface, accounting for the expected magnetic field, was solved using the inverse technique. The stream function was available through the ‘discretization’ of the current density distribution on the RF coil surface. The coil windings were obtained from the contour plot of the stream function. As a modification of previous designs, the bi-boundary conditions are proposed in the inverse technique for the existence of the ultrasound aperture. Based on the obtained coil windings, a prototype coil was constructed. MR imaging of the phantom and the human body was performed to show the efficacy of the prototype coil. The results of temperature measurement using the prototype coil in a 0.4-T MR system were satisfactory. The performance of the prototype coil improved compared with the previously reported design.     

Hybrid Monopole/Loop Coil Array for Human Head MR Imaging at 7 T

The monopole coil and loop coil have orthogonal radiofrequency (RF) fields and thus are intrinsically decoupled electromagnetically if they are laid out appropriately. In this study, we proposed a hybrid monopole/loop technique which could combine the advantages of both loop arrays and monopole arrays. To investigate this technique, a hybrid RF coil array containing four monopole channels and four loop channels was developed for human head magnetic resonance (MR) imaging at 7 T. In vivo MR imaging and g-factor results using monopole-only channels, loop-only channels and all channels of the hybrid array were acquired and evaluated. Compared with the monopole-only and loop-only channels, the proposed hybrid array has the higher signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and better parallel imaging performance. Sufficient electromagnetic decoupling and diverse RF magnetic field (B₁) distributions of monopole channels and loop channels may contribute to this performance improvement. From experimental results, the hybrid monopole/loop array has low g-factor and excellent SNR at both periphery and center of the brain, which is valuable for human head imaging at ultrahigh fields.     

A practical multinuclear transceiver volume coil for in vivo MRI/MRS at 7 T

A practical multinuclear transceiver RF volume coil with improved efficiency for in vivo small animal ¹H/¹³C/²³Na MR applications at the ultrahigh magnetic field of 7 T is reported. In the proposed design, the coil's resonance frequencies for ¹H and ¹³C are realized by using a traditional double-tuned approach, while the resonant frequency for ²³Na, which is only some 4 MHz away from the ¹³C frequency, is tuned based upon ¹³C channel by easy-operating capacitive “frequency switches”. In contrast to the traditional triple-tuned volume coil, the volume coil with the proposed design possesses less number of resonances, which helps improve the coil efficiency and alleviate the design and operation difficulties. This coil design strategy is advantageous and well suitable for multinuclear MR imaging and spectroscopy studies, particularly in the case where Larmor frequencies of nuclei in question are not separate enough. The prototype multinuclear coil was demonstrated in the desired unshielded design for easy construction and experiment implementation at 7 T. The design method may provide a practical and robust solution to designing multinuclear RF volume coils for in vivo MR imaging and spectroscopy at ultrahigh fields. Finite difference time domain method simulations for evaluating the design and 7-T MR experiment results acquired using the prototype coil are presented.     

A microstrip transmission line volume coil for human head MR imaging at 4T

A high-frequency RF volume coil based on the use of microstrip transmission line (MTL) has been developed for in vivo 1H MR applications on the human head at 4T. This coil is characterized by major advantages: (i) completely distributed coil circuit, (ii) high-quality factor (Q), (iii) simple coil structure, and (iv) better sensitivity and less signal-intensity variation in the MR image of the human head compared with an RF shielded birdcage coil of similar coil size. The proposed MTL volume coil does not require additional RF shielding for preventing Q degradation from radiation losses due to the unique MTL structure; thus, it provides a maximal useable space inside the volume coil when compared with most volume coils available at high fields with the same overall coil size. The intrinsic B(1) distribution of the MTL volume coil effectively compensates for the dielectric resonance effect at 4T and improves the signal homogeneity in human head MR images in the transaxial planes. The results of this study demonstrate that the MTL volume coil design provides an efficient and simple solution to RF volume coil design for human MR studies at high fields.     

A novel radio frequency coil for veterinary magnetic resonance imaging system

In this article,a novel designed radio frequency (RF) coil is designed and built for the imaging of puppies in a V-shape permanent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system.Two sets of Helmholtz coil pairs with a V-shape structure are used to improve the holding of an animal in the coil.The homogeneity and the sensitivity of the RF field in the coil are analysed by theoretical calculation.The size and the shape of the new coil are optimized and validated by simulation through using the finite element method (FEM).Good magnetic resonance (MR) images are achieved on a shepherd dog.     

Cross polarization, radio frequency field homogeneity, and circuit balancing in high field solid state NMR probes

Homogeneous radio frequency (RF) fields are important for sensitivity and efficiency of magnetization transfer in solid state NMR experiments. If the fields are inhomogeneous the cross polarization (CP) experiment transfers magnetization in only a thin slice of sample rather than throughout the entire volume. Asymmetric patterns have been observed in plots of the CP signal versus RF field mismatch for an 800 MHz solid-state NMR probe where each channel is resonated in a single-ended mode. A simple model of CP shows these patterns can be reproduced if the RF fields for the two nuclei are centered at different places in the coil. Experimental measurements using B1 field imaging, nutation arrays on extremely short NMR samples, and de-tuning experiments involving disks of copper incrementally moved through the coil support this model of spatially offset RF fields. We have found that resonating the high frequency channel in a double-ended or "balanced" mode can alleviate this field offset problem, and have implemented this in a three-channel solid state NMR probe of our own design.     

CFETR CSģ����Ȧ�ĵ�ŷ���

在中国聚变工程试验堆(CFETR)的概念设计阶段,为了将来正确设计和顺利加工其中心螺线管(CS)线圈,设计了一个由Nb3Sn内线圈和NbTi外线圈组成的模型线圈。采用线电流模型和后期数据处理的方法对其磁场做了精确计算,解决了线电流模型不能计算导线内部磁场的问题。在此基础上计算了线圈的电感和电磁应力等参数。     

CFETR CS模型线圈的电磁分析

在中国聚变工程试验堆(CFETR)的概念设计阶段,为了将来正确设计和顺利加工其中心螺线管(CS)线圈,设计了一个由Nb₃Sn内线圈和NbTi外线圈组成的模型线圈。采用线电流模型和后期数据处理的方法对其磁场做了精确计算,解决了线电流模型不能计算导线内部磁场的问题。在此基础上计算了线圈的电感和电磁应力等参数。