结合振动控制的柱面纵向梯度线圈目标场设计方法

在磁共振成像系统的工作过程中,噪声主要是由梯度线圈系统产生的.梯度线圈置于高均匀度超导磁体的室温孔内,并工作于脉冲状态,频繁的开启和关闭会使线圈中电流急剧随时间变化,变化的电流导致线圈受到变化的洛伦兹力作用,从而产生振动,这种高频振动所发出的噪声会对病人产生刺激,严重时甚至会对病人的听觉神经产生损伤.梯度场的场强越强、切换速度越快,所产生的噪声就越大.降低噪声的最根本方法是通过有效的梯度线圈设计,降低洛伦兹力的空间分布.本文针对纵向梯度线圈,在原经典目标场设计方法基础上,加入对振动参量,从而能够有效地降低线圈工作时所产生的噪声.其具体方法是将振动控制函数作为约束条件,通过目标场法建立数学模型,利用MATLAB进行电磁验算.计算结果表明,所提数学模型可有效地降低线圈振动的最大振幅.     

Multi-objective optimization of gradient coil for benchtop magnetic resonance imaging system with high-resolution

Significant high magnetic gradient field strength is essential to obtaining high-resolution images in a benchtop mag- netic resonance imaging （BT-MRI） system with permanent magnet. Extending minimum wire spacing and maximum wire width of gradient coils is one of the key solutions to minimize the maximum current density so as to reduce the local heating and generate higher magnetic field gradient strength. However, maximum current density is hard to optimize together with field linearity, stored magnetic energy, and power dissipation by the traditional target field method. In this paper, a new multi-objective method is proposed to optimize the maximum current density, field linearity, stored magnetic energy, and power dissipation in MRI gradient coils. The simulation and experimental results show that the minimum wire spacings are improved by 159% and 62% for the transverse and longitudinal gradient coil respectively. The maximum wire width increases from 0.5 mm to 1.5 mm. Maximum gradient field strengths of 157 mT/m and 405 mT/m for transverse and lon- gitudinal coil are achieved, respectively. The experimental results in BT-MRI instrument demonstrate that the MRI images with in-plane resolution of 50 ~tm can be obtained by using the designed coils.     

矩阵梯度线圈研究现状与发展趋势

梯度和匀场线圈性能的好坏直接影响磁共振成像质量．常规线圈在成像过程中存在一些固有的不足,如产生的磁场形态单一、不灵活,需要的线圈种类较多,结构较复杂等．而新型矩阵梯度线圈可以较好地弥补这些缺点．本文首先介绍了矩阵梯度线圈的概念及其特性,然后根据结构和功能对其研究现状进行分类汇总,在此基础上对矩阵线圈未来的发展趋势进行分析．此外,本文还对矩阵梯度线圈的前期研究基础进行了介绍．     

Actively shielded multi-layer gradient coil designs with improved cooling properties

In standard cylindrical gradient coils consisting of a single layer of wires, a limiting factor in achieving very large magnetic field gradients is the rapid increase in coil resistance with efficiency. This is a particular problem in small-bore scanners, such as those used for MR microscopy. By adopting a multi-layer design in which the coil wires are allowed to spread out into multiple layers wound at increasing radii, a more favourable scaling of resistance with efficiency is achieved, thus allowing the design of more powerful gradient coils with acceptable resistance values. Previously this approach has been applied to the design of unshielded, longitudinal, and transverse gradient coils. Here, the multi-layer approach has been extended to allow the design of actively shielded multi-layer gradient coils, and also to produce coils exhibiting enhanced cooling characteristics. An iterative approach to modelling the steady-state temperature distribution within the coil has also been developed. Results indicate that a good level of screening can be achieved in multi-layer coils, that small versions of such coils can yield higher efficiencies at fixed resistance than conventional two-layer (primary and screen) coils, and that performance improves as the number of layers of increases. Simulations show that by optimising multi-layer coils for cooling it is possible to achieve significantly higher gradient strengths at a fixed maximum operating temperature. A four-layer coil of 8 mm inner diameter has been constructed and used to test the steady-state temperature model.     

Eddy current simulation in thick cylinders of finite length induced by coils of arbitrary geometry

Eddy currents are inevitably induced when time-varying magnetic field gradients interact with the metallic structures of a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner. The secondary magnetic field produced by this induced current degrades the spatial and temporal performance of the primary field generated by the gradient coils. Although this undesired effect can be minimized by using actively and/or passively shielded gradient coils and current pre-emphasis techniques, a residual eddy current still remains in the MRI scanner structure. Accurate simulation of these eddy currents is important in the successful design of gradient coils and magnet cryostat vessels. Efficient methods for simulating eddy currents are currently restricted to cylindrical-symmetry. The approach presented in this paper divides thick conducting cylinders into thin layers (thinner than the skin depth) and expresses the current density on each as a Fourier series. The coupling between each mode of the Fourier series with every other is modeled with an inductive network method. In this way, the eddy currents induced in realistic cryostat surfaces by coils of arbitrary geometry can be simulated. The new method was validated by simulating a canonical problem and comparing the results against a commercially available software package. An accurate skin depth of 2.76 mm was calculated in 6 min with the new method. The currents induced by an actively shielded x-gradient coil were simulated assuming a finite length cylindrical cryostat consisting of three different conducting materials. Details of the temporal-spatial induced current diffusion process were simulated through all cryostat layers, which could not be efficiently simulated with any other method. With this data, all quantities that depend on the current density, such as the secondary magnetic field, are simply evaluated.     

一种永磁磁共振中磁体涡流场的测量方法

磁共振成像（Magntic Resonance Imaging,MRI）技术是一种先进的医疗影像技术.在MRI系统中,通过梯度线圈电流快速切换方向,对待测区域施加梯度磁场,产生的梯度磁场会在其周围的金属体内激发出变化的涡旋电场,进而导致金属体内闭合的回路中产生对原来的梯度电流起抑制作用的感生电流,也就是我们所说的涡流.本文介绍了一种测量磁体涡流场的方法,结合电磁感应定律,设计了一种磁体涡流场测量装置,通过硬件采集以及软件处理的方法,将理想梯度场与实际磁场进行相减并将波形实时呈现,实验结果表明该方法可实现对磁体涡流场的测量.     

Equivalent magnetic dipole method used to design gradient coil for unilateral magnetic resonance imaging

The conventional magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) equipment cannot measure large volume samples nondestructively in the engineering site for its heavy weight and closed structure. In order to realize the mobile MRI, this study focuses on the design of gradient coil of unilateral magnet. The unilateral MRI system is used to image the local area above the magnet. The current density distribution of the gradient coil cannot be used as a series of superconducting nuclear magnetic resonance gradient coils, because the region of interest(ROI) and the wiring area of the unilateral magnet are both cylindrical side arc surfaces. Therefore, the equivalent magnetic dipole method is used to design the gradient coil, and the algorithm is improved for the special case of the wiring area and the ROI, so the X and Y gradient coils are designed.Finally, a flexible printed circuit board(PCB) is used to fabricate the gradient coil, and the magnetic field distribution of the ROI is measured by a Gauss meter, and the measured results match with the simulation results. The gradient linearities of x and y coils are 2.82% and 3.56%, respectively, less than 5% of the commercial gradient coil requirement.     

The properties of short-circuited HTSC coils

The properties of short-circuited multiturn superconducting coils have been studied; coils with nonsuperconducting contacts have been fabricated from a high-temperature superconducting (HTSC) tape made by Super Power Company. The magnetic flux captured by HTSC coils has been measured at different values of magnetic field of the magnetizing solenoid. the critical current in the coils have been experimentally determined based on the maximum values of the field they captured. It is ~50% of the nominal value for this HTSC tape. The range of external magnetic field, where HTSC coils keep the captured magnetic flux, has been experimentally found. The obtained results have demonstrated the possibility of designing magnet systems with levitating coils made of HTSC tape, in which levitation is controlled without using feedbacks.     

ESR microscopy

New spatial imaging methods to determine the microscopic concentration of unpaired electron spins or paramagnetic ions (ESR microscopy methods) have been developed (a) with an intense magnetic field gradient method based on conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using field gradient coils in a cavity, (b) by scanning the localized magnetic field or modulation field mechanichally or electronically, and (c) by use of the scanning localized microwave field. Some examples of fossil imaging and of microdosimetry in this laboratory are reviewed briefly.     

一种可用于极化~3He实验的新型磁场系统

原子核自旋极化的~3He气体已被深入研究并广泛用于各种科学实验.在过去的极化~3He实验中,为了减小磁场梯度对纵向弛豫时间的影响,通常会建造大尺寸的亥姆霍兹线圈来提供所需均匀度的主磁场环境.本文通过计算得到了新的六正方形线圈系统,可以为极化~3He实验提供小型高均匀性的磁场装置.其中线圈系√统内部超过30%的区域磁场梯度满足(|▽B_x|~2+|▽B_y|~2)/B_0 10~(-4)cm~(-1),这一均匀区域比例超过了现在所有用于极化~3He实验的线圈装置.对于其他需要大均匀区域磁场环境的研究实验,新的六线圈系统也具有很好的应用价值.     

基于粒子群与遗传算法的矩阵式梯度线圈优化设计

磁共振成像系统中的梯度线圈产生用于选层、频率编码和相位编码的梯度磁场.目前常用的梯度线圈是通过目标场法设计得到的.近些年来,由多个形状相同的线圈组成的矩阵式梯度线圈的梯度磁场均匀度和功率等指标也达到了较为满意的效果.本文首先提出了一种基于粒子群与遗传算法的、适用于开放式永磁型磁共振成像系统的矩阵式梯度线圈设计方法.然后对三个方向上的矩阵梯度线圈的电流分布进行了设计,每个方向上的矩阵式梯度线圈系统由224个大小相同的圆形线圈组成.最后利用有限元仿真软件对设计方案进行仿真计算,得到x、y方向上的平均非均匀度为0.851%,z方向上的平均非均匀度为1.013%,验证了本文提出的方法的有效性.基于该方法可以有效快速地对开放式磁共振成像系统的矩阵梯度线圈进行设计.     

Multilayer Gradient Coil Design

In standard cylindrical gradient coils consisting of wires wound in a single layer, the rapid increase in coil resistance with efficiency is the limiting factor in achieving very large magnetic field gradients. This behavior results from the decrease in the maximum usable wire diameter as the number of turns is increased. By adopting a multilayer design in which the coil wires are allowed to spread out into multiple layers wound at increasing radii, a more favorable scaling of resistance with efficiency is achieved, thus allowing the design of more powerful gradient coils with acceptable resistance values. By extending the theory used to design standard cylindrical gradient coils, we have developed mathematical expressions which allow the design of multilayer coils, and the evaluation of their performance. These expressions have been used to design a four-layer,z-gradient coil of 8 mm inner diameter, which has an efficiency of 1.73 Tm⁻¹A⁻¹, a resistance of 1.8 Ω, and an inductance of 50 μH. This coil produces a gradient which deviates from linearity by less than 5% within a central cylindrical region of 4.5 mm length and 4.5 mm diameter. A coil has been constructed from this design and tested in simple imaging and pulsed gradient spin echo experiments. The resulting data verify the predicted coil performance, thus demonstrating the advantages of using multilayer coils for experiments requiring very large magnetic field gradients.     

Theory of MRI in the presence of zero to low magnetic fields and tensor imaging field gradients

Today, all commonly practiced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) reconstruction methods assume that the magnetic field created by the gradient coils is everywhere truncated by a dominant static uniform magnetic field. However, with the advent of SQUID detected MRI at microtesla fields, the opposite limit attracts attention, i.e., image formation in the unperturbed tensor field of the gradient coils. Here, we show by numerical simulations that, in principle, it is possible to reconstruct the image of an object in the absence of a uniform static field, working with the same gradient field setup as used in conventional MRI. Our calculations show that this approach could increase the image resolution limit attainable at low fields with a minimal incorporation of additional hardware and pulse sequences.     

Reduction of Effect of Concomitant Gradients in Low Magnetic Field MRI via Optimization of Gradient Magnetic System

The effect of concomitant magnetic fields emerging in conjunction with encoding gradients, which is important in the process of the magnetic resonance imaging in low fields, has been considered. The manifestations of concomitant magnetic fields in a concrete gradient system, namely in the system of two coaxial gradient coils, have been thoroughly analyzed. It has been suggested to improve the gradient system via optimization of the interspace between coils on the basis of the standard criterion of the minimum of root-mean-square deviation of the encoding field dependence from a linear one. It has been shown that the optimal interspace is not the Maxwell condition.     

Periodic structure of acicular magnetic clusters in a magnetic liquid

The behavior of magnetic clusters in a magnetic liquid placed in a circular capillary is considered. When a uniform magnetic field is applied to the system, acicular clusters grow from the sediment, being aligned with the field. The interaction of the clusters as magnetic dipoles with one another and with an external gradient magnetic field is considered theoretically. In a nonuniform symmetric magnetic field with a peak, the cluster distribution is uniform near the peak. Such a distribution is fairly stable when the magnetic field gradient is varied over certain limits. The ordered (periodic) cluster configuration is realized experimentally, and it is shown that its period can be controlled. As the magnetic field gradient exceeds a certain threshold, the clusters are redistributed, forming a multirow hexagonal array.     

超椭圆柱面梯度线圈设计

超椭圆柱设计表面能够减小线圈与目标的距离,提高空间利用率,扩大成像区域的有效范围.提出利用流函数法及柱面的可展性在超椭圆柱面上设计核磁共振成像系统中的梯度线圈.根据Biot-Savart定律建立磁场强度与流函数的表达式,采用最小二乘法和Tikhonov正则化方法构造了双目标设计函数.利用柱面的可展性提高了基于分片离散流函数计算电磁场的数值精度,通过L-曲线方法实现了正则参数的合理选取.通过引入适当的流函数边界约束条件,把梯度线圈的优化问题转化为适定线性方程组的直接求解问题.通过数值算例验证了超椭圆柱面展开求解方法的正确性.优化结果显示,在满足线性度误差小于5%的设计约束下,该方法在设计超椭圆柱面线圈驱动电流分布的同时有效控制了梯度线圈的能耗.     

Multiple Parallel Round Leg Design for Quadrature Birdcage Coil in Ultrahigh-Field MRI

Copper foil has been widely employed in conventional radio frequency (RF) birdcage coils for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). However, for ultrahigh-field (UHF) MRI, current density distribution on the copper foil is concentrated on the surface and the edge due to proximity effect. This increases the effective resistance and distorts the circumferential sinusoidal current distribution on the birdcage coils, resulting in low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and inhomogeneous distribution of RF magnetic (B₁) field. In this context, multiple parallel round wires were proposed as legs of a birdcage coil to optimize current density distribution and to improve the SNR and the B₁ field homogeneity. The design was compared with three conventional birdcage coils with different width flat strip surface legs for a 9.4 T (T) MRI system, e.g., narrow-leg birdcage coil (NL), medium-leg birdcage coil (ML), broad-leg birdcage coil (BL) and the multiple parallel round wire-leg birdcage coil (WL). Studies were carried out in in vitro saline phantom as well as in vivo mouse brain. WL showed higher coil quality factor Q and more homogeneous B₁ field distribution compared to the other three conventional birdcage coils. Furthermore, WL showed 12, 10 and 13% SNR increase, respectively, compared to NL, ML and BL. It was proposed that conductor’s shape optimization could be an effective approach to improve RF coil performance for UHF MRI.     

基于螺线盘聚焦径向电子束的理论分析与仿真研究

对径向电子束在浸没式聚焦条件下的传输特性进行了理论分析,得到了束流传输过程中轴向扩张幅值与外加引导磁场强度之间的解析表达式。阐述了螺线盘在空间中任意一点产生磁场的理论,给出了通以相反方向电流的螺线盘之间磁场的分布规律。设计了一种基于螺线盘聚焦径向电子束的引导磁场系统,并对电子束的传输特性进行了仿真研究,结果表明径向电子束能够在设计的引导磁场系统下实现束流的稳定传输。     

J-TEXT装置纵场电源系统及其调试

J-TEXT装置的纵场磁体是由十六个近似圆形的常规铜线圈串联而成。纵场电源系统需要为纵场磁体提供最大电流为160kA、平顶时间为500ms的准梯形电流波形,以在等离子体中心产生最大为3T的磁场。基于原TEXT-U纵场电源的电路结构,重新设计和改造了电源的控制系统和保护系统。目前,纵场电源系统已经通过了测试,在J-TEXT装置首轮放电运行中,该系统可输出92.5kA的平顶电流,在等离子体中心产生了约1.74T的磁场。