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.     

磁共振成像的正交线圈数字合成方法研究

当采用正交线圈来提高接收通道的性能时,合成方法对整体效果有很大的影响. 由于在一般情况下正交线圈的2个线圈的信噪比存在不平衡,故需要采用加权合成的方法来优化合成图像的信噪比. 在现有的模拟合成方法中,加权系数是固定的,不能根据每次扫描的实际情况来确定最优的参数,因此无法得到最佳的合成效果. 该文提出一种简单的磁共振正交线圈成像的数字合成方法,它采用2个完全独立的接收通道来采集磁共振信号,根据两通道信号的特性来动态地确定I/Q线圈的加权因子,最后进行加权合成.     

利用动态接收增益提高磁共振成像信噪比的方法

提出了一种提高磁共振成像(MRI)信噪比的有效方法.该方法在每次采集回波信号前,能够快速、灵活地控制MRI接收机的增益,实现磁共振信号动态范围的压缩;在图像重建之前采用双精度浮点运算扩展动态范围压缩的磁共振信号,最终得到信噪比提高的重建图像.在1.5 T超导MRI系统上进行了自旋回波序列的水模成像,实验结果表明,相比传统的基于固定接收增益的扫描图像,利用该方法得到的T1加权图像信噪比可以提高10%.和其他提高磁共振信号动态范围的方法相比,该方法无需增加额外硬件电路,避免多次采集图像,因而具有实现成本低的优点,是一种提高MRI信噪比的有效方法.     

磁共振成像信号的数字化接收系统设计

磁共振成像信号的采集是磁共振成像系统当中最重要的环节之一,设计性能良好的信号接收系统直接关系到成像质量的好坏. 本文根据磁共振信号强度弱、频率高、带宽窄的特性对接收系统进行了统一设计. 详细地对可控增益放大、高速A/D、数字解调以及抽样滤波器等几个部分进行了讨论,给出一整套设计方案,尤其对多级抽样滤波器,根据磁共振成像的性能需求和滤波器的不同特性给出了抽样系数分配和滤波器设计的一般方法. 根据该方案设计出的磁共振信号接收系统有较高的信噪比,已经应用在临床医疗诊断当中.      

基于边界元方法的超导核磁共振成像设备高阶轴向匀场线圈优化算法

在磁共振成像设备中,为了消除目标区域内的高阶谐波磁场分量,传统方法采用无源匀场,但该方法匀场精度较低,针对性较差,适用于全局匀场,而有源匀场则可以通过优化线圈分布来产生所需要的特定的磁场分布.但是,由于匀场线圈线型的复杂度会随着线圈阶数的增加而增加,难以满足设计需要,因此本文提出了一种用于磁共振成像超导匀场线圈系统的多变量非线性优化设计方法.该方法基于边界元方法,将匀场线圈所产生的磁场与目标磁场之间的偏差作为目标函数,线匝间距、线圈半径等作为约束条件,通过非线性优化算法,得到满足设计要求的线圈分布.通过一个中心磁场为0.5 T的开放式双平面磁共振成像超导轴向匀场线圈的设计案例,说明本方法具有计算效率高、灵活性好的特点.     

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.     

基于高温超导线圈的共振式无线输电研究

磁耦合共振式无线电能传输技术因其可以实现中距离和高效率的电能传输而被广泛重视。采用超导线圈代替常规铜线圈的无线输电系统,因临界温度下具有较小的损耗和较高的品质因数,可望大大提高系统的能量传输效率。分别构建了基于高温超导发射线圈的超导无线输电系统和基于铜发射线圈的常规无线输电系统,实验研究了超导线圈和铜线圈无线输电系统的能量传输效率与轴向距离和径向距离之间的关系。仿真和实验结果表明:相同条件下,无线输电系统使用超导发射线圈代替铜发射线圈可以有效提高系统能量传输效率,并改善系统在线圈未对准情况下效率的衰减。     

23 Na磁共振成像的初步实验研究

介绍了用于²³Na磁共振成像实验的收发一体表面线圈的设计、制作原理与实际制作. 用制作的²³Na表面线圈在Bruker Biospec 47/30磁共振成像仪上采集了不同浓度NaCl溶液,盐腌制鹌鹑蛋和大鼠头部的²³Na密度像,为深入开展23Na磁共振成像的生物医学应用研究奠定基础.     

电动汽车无线充电枪及特性研究北大核心

提出了电动汽车无线充电枪概念。考虑到高温超导线圈的品质因数高于铜线圈,在提出的电动汽车无线充电模式中采用高温超导线圈作发射线圈,铜利兹线圈作接收线圈。在COMSOL中建立超导发射线圈恒流模式下与铜利兹接收线圈的二维磁场-电路多场耦合模型,仿真分析了系统功率及传输效率随接收线圈半径的变化规律,以及发射线圈、接收线圈不同半径比下,系统功率及传输效率随负载电阻的变化规律,为电动汽车无线充电系统的具体参数设计提供了依据。     

开放式自屏蔽全身成像高场超导MRI磁体优化设计

本文发展了开放式自屏蔽全身成像高场超导磁共振成像（MRI）磁体的优化设计方法,使设计出来的磁体仅有4 对超导线圈. 这种开放结构的超导MRI磁体优化设计方法集成了线性规划算法和遗传算法. 通过迭代线性规划算法可以在考虑成像区域（DSV）磁感应强度约束、磁场不均匀度约束、5 Gs线范围约束、线圈区域最大磁场值约束和最大环向应力约束的条件下,获得用线量最少的线圈初始形状和位置,同时可以得到每个线圈的层数和每层匝数;通过遗传算法可以提高DSV区域的磁场不均匀度,以达到高质量成像的要求. 这种集成的优化设计方法既可以灵活有效的设计开放式MRI磁体,也可以设计传统的圆柱形MRI磁体,本文通过一个1.2 T的开放式MRI磁体的设计清楚的展示了这种优化方法. 关键词： 线性规划算法 遗传算法 自屏蔽 开放式超导MRI磁体     

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.     

Investigation of Bi-2223 high temperature superconducting tape as the material for gradient coil in MRI

The use of Bi-2223 high temperature superconducting (HTS) tape as a material for gradient coils in MRI is evaluated in this paper. Bi-2223 tapes have a very high critical current and a very low power loss. A HTS tape gradient coil is expected to provide much higher gradient strength and generate much lower heating than a copper coil. Measurements of the AC power loss of Bi-2223 tapes at typical operating frequencies for gradient coils are presented. The degradation of the critical current and its effect on the increase of AC power loss is analyzed. Practical technical issues such as resistance, gradient strength and mechanical performance are also discussed. A prototype Bi-2223 HTS tape gradient coil is evaluated to verify the concept.     

Design of an interventional magnetic resonance imaging coil for cerebral surgery

In clinical magnetic resonance imaging(MRI),the design of the radiofrequency(RF) coil is very important.For certain applications,the appropriate coil can produce an improved image quality.However,it is difficult to achieve a uniform B1 field and a high signal-to-noise ratio(SNR) simultaneously.In this article,we design an interventional transmitter-and-receiver RF coil for cerebral surgery.This coil adopts a disassembly structure that can be assembled and disassembled repeatedly on the cerebral surgery gantry to reduce the amount of interference from the MRI during surgery.The simulation results and the imaging experiments demonstrate that this coil can produce a uniform RF field,a high SNR,and a large imaging range to meet the requirements of the cerebral surgery.     

An optimized solenoidal head radiofrequency coil for low-field magnetic resonance imaging

Applications of low-field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems (<0.3 T) are limited due to the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) being lower than that provided by systems based on superconductive magnets (≥1.5 T). Therefore, the design of radiofrequency (RF) coils for low-field MRI requires careful consideration as significant gains in SNR can be achieved with the proper design of the RF coil. This article describes an analytical method for the optimization of solenoidal coils. Coil and sample losses are analyzed to provide maximum SNR and optimum B₁ field homogeneity. The calculations are performed for solenoidal coils optimized for the human head at 0.2 T, but the method could also be applied to any solenoidal coil for imaging other anatomical regions at low field. Several coils were constructed to compare experimental and theoretical results. A head magnetic resonance image obtained at 0.2 T with the optimum design is presented.     

Practical design of a 4 Tesla double-tuned RF surface coil for interleaved 1H and 23Na MRI of rat brain

MRI is proving to be a very useful tool for sodium quantification in animal models of stroke, ischemia, and cancer. In this work, we present the practical design of a dual-frequency RF surface coil that provides (1)H and (23)Na images of the rat head at 4 T. The dual-frequency RF surface coil comprised of a large loop tuned to the (1)H frequency and a smaller co-planar loop tuned to the (23)Na frequency. The mutual coupling between the two loops was eliminated by the use of a trap circuit inserted in the smaller coil. This independent-loop design was versatile since it enabled a separate optimisation of the sensitivity and RF field distributions of the two coils. To allow for an easy extension of this simple double-tuned coil design to other frequencies (nuclei) and dimensions, we describe in detail the practical aspects of the workbench design and MRI testing using a phantom that mimics in vivo conditions. A comparison between our independent-loop, double-tuned coil and a single-tuned (23)Na coil of equal size obtained with a phantom matching in vivo conditions, showed a reduction of the (23)Na sensitivity (about 28 %) because of signal losses in the trap inductance. Typical congruent (1)H and (23)Na rat brain images showing good SNR ((23)Na: brain 7, ventricular cerebrospinal fluid 11) and spatial resolution ((23)Na: 1.25 x 1.25 x 5mm(3)) are also reported. The in vivo SNR values obtained with this coil were comparable to, if not better than, other contemporary designs in the literature.     

Multichannel transceiver dual-tuned RF coil for proton/sodium MR imaging of knee cartilage at 3 T

Sodium magnetic resonance (MR) imaging is a promising technique for detecting changes of proteoglycan (PG) content in cartilage associated with knee osteoarthritis. Despite its potential clinical benefit, sodium MR imaging in vivo is challenging because of intrinsically low sodium concentration and low MR signal sensitivity. Some of the challenges in sodium MR imaging may be eliminated by the use of a high-sensitivity radiofrequency (RF) coil, specifically, a dual-tuned (DT) proton/sodium RF coil which facilitates the co-registration of sodium and proton MR images and the evaluation of both physiochemical and structural properties of knee cartilage. Nevertheless, implementation of a DT proton/sodium RF coil is technically difficult because of the coupling effect between the coil elements (particularly at high field) and the required compact design with improved coil sensitivity. In this study, we applied a multitransceiver RF coil design to develop a DT proton/sodium coil for knee cartilage imaging at 3 T. With the new design, the size of the coil was minimized, and a high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) was achieved. DT coil exhibited high levels of reflection S11 (～-21 dB) and transmission coefficient S12 (～-19 dB) for both the proton and sodium coils. High SNR (range 27-38) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) (range 15-21) were achieved in sodium MR imaging of knee cartilage in vivo at 3-mm(3) isotropic resolution. This DT coil performance was comparable to that measured using a sodium-only birdcage coil (SNR of 28 and CNR of 20). Clinical evaluation of the DT coil on four normal subjects demonstrated a consistent acquisition of high-resolution proton images and measurement of relative sodium concentrations of knee cartilages without repositioning of the subjects during the same MR scanning session.     

Special designed RF-antenna with integrated non-invasive carbon electrodes for simultaneous magnetic resonance imaging and electroencephalography acquisition at 7T

The construction of a high quality MR RF-antenna with incorporated EEG electrodes for simultaneous MRI and EEG acquisition is presented. The antenna comprises an active decoupled surface coil for receiving the MR signal and a whole body coil for transmitting the excitation RF pulses. The surface coil offers a high signal-to-noise ratio required for fMRI application and the whole body coil has a good B(1) excitation profile, which enables the application of homogeneous RF pulses. Non-invasive carbon electrodes are used in order to minimise the magnetic susceptibility artefacts that occur upon application of conductive materials. This dedicated set-up is compared to a standard set-up being a linear birdcage coil and commercially available Ag/AgCl electrodes. As the acquired EEG signals are heavily disturbed by the gradient switching, intelligent filtering is applied to obtain a clean EEG signal.     

高温超导收发子系统设计

本文介绍了一套高温超导收发子系统,该子系统包括大功率高温超导滤波器、环形器、微波开关、低噪声放大器.整个子系统真空封装在斯特林制冷机中,支持双向传输同频段微波信号.通带内子系统接收通道的最小噪声系数1.4dB,发射通道的功率承受能力大于3W.