Magnetic resonance facility

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10444306-B2
Application number	US-201715485793-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 12, 2017
Priority date	Apr 14, 2016
Publication date	Oct 15, 2019
Grant date	Oct 15, 2019

Abstract

A magnetic resonance facility is provided. The magnetic resonance facility includes at least one object table configured to mount an object to be examined and at least one coil facility embodied separately from the object table, which includes at least one local coil and at least one connecting portion, which may be introduced into at least one recess of the object table and may be held there to hold the coil facility. The connecting portion in the recess is guided displaceably along a longitudinal direction of the recess between different positions in which it may be held. At least one coil-facility-side connecting device is arranged on the connecting portion and may establish an electrical connection for the power supply and/or for signal transmission between the coil facility and the object table and/or at least one optical connection for signal transmission between the coil facility and the object table.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A magnetic resonance facility comprising:
an object table comprising a recess, the object table configured to support an object to be examined; and
at least one coil facility embodied separately from the object table, the at least one coil facility comprising at least one local coil and at least one connecting portion, wherein the at least one connecting portion is configured to be introduced into the recess of the object table and configured to be held in the recess to hold the coil facility,
wherein the connecting portion in the recess is guided displaceably along a longitudinal direction of the recess between different positions in which the connecting portion is configured to be held,
wherein the recess and the connecting portion are configured for continuous displacement of the connecting portion in the recess,
wherein the connecting portion is configured to be held at every position of the continuous displacement, and
wherein at least one coil-facility-side connecting device is arranged on the connecting portion and, when the connecting portion is held in the recess, together with an object-table-side connecting device arranged in the recess, the at least one coil-facility-side connecting device establishes one or more of the following: an electrical connection for a power supply for the coil facility, an electrical connection for a signal transmission between the coil facility and the object table, or at least one optical connection for the signal transmission between the coil facility and the object table.

2. The magnetic resonance facility of claim 1 , wherein the coil facility is elastic, flexible, or both elastic and flexible, and
wherein the coil facility has a connecting portion on each end of two opposite ends.

3. The magnetic resonance facility of claim 1 , wherein the connecting portion is configured to be held in the recess by a detachable latching connection.

4. The magnetic resonance facility of claim 1 , wherein a pressure hose is arranged in the recess, the pressure hose having an extension that is variable by changing a filling pressure with a filling facility of the magnetic resonance facility, and
wherein the connecting portion is configured to be clamped in the recess by increasing the filling pressure in the pressure hose.

5. The magnetic resonance facility of claim 1 , wherein the coil facility comprises at least one gas cushion configured to fix the object to be examined, position the local coil, or fix the object to be examined and position the local coil, and
wherein an extension of the gas cushion is variable by changing a filling pressure with a filling facility of the magnetic resonance facility.

6. The magnetic resonance facility of claim 5 , wherein the gas cushion is arranged between a support portion of the coil facility arranged on the connecting portion and the local coil or at least one of the local coils is arranged such that the relative position of the local coil with respect to the support portion is changeable by changing the filling pressure of the gas cushion.

7. The magnetic resonance facility of claim 5 , wherein the gas cushion is Tillable with gas through a filling opening arranged on the connecting portion and, when the connecting portion is held in the recess, the gas cushion is connected in a gas-tight manner to an object-table-side gas feed through which the gas is configured to be fed from the filling facility to the gas cushion.

8. The magnetic resonance facility of claim 1 , wherein the object-table-side and the coil-facility-side connecting device are embodied and arranged such that, when the connecting portion is held, at least one conductive projection as a coil-facility-side or object-table-side connecting device is pressed onto an assigned conductor strip extending in a longitudinal direction of the recess as an object-table-side or coil-facility-side connecting device to establish the electrical connection.

9. The magnetic resonance facility of claim 1 , wherein the object-table-side connecting device is arranged on a side wall of the recess standing at an angle to a surface of the object table and extending in a longitudinal direction of the recess.

10. The magnetic resonance facility of claim 1 , wherein at least one further pressure hose is arranged in the recess,
wherein an extension of the further pressure hose is variable by changing a filling pressure with a filling facility of the magnetic resonance facility, and
wherein the coil-facility-side connecting device is separable from the object-table-side connecting device by filling the further pressure hose.

11. The magnetic resonance facility of claim 1 , wherein the recess comprises a plurality of recesses,
wherein each recess of which the connecting portion of the coil facility or a further connecting portion of the coil facility or at least one further coil facility is configured to be held, and
wherein only parts of the recesses have a respective object-table-side connecting device.

12. The magnetic resonance facility of claim 1 , wherein the coil facility is semi-flexible.

13. The magnetic resonance facility of claim 12 , wherein the recess of the object table is arranged at least partially on one side relative to a longitudinal axis of the object table.

14. An object table configured to be used in a magnetic resonance facility, the object table comprising:
a recess; and
an object-table-side connecting device arranged in the recess,
wherein the object table is configured to support an object to be examined and to hold at least one coil facility having at least one local coil,
wherein a connecting portion of the coil facility is configured to be introduced into the a recess, and is configured to be held within the recess to hold the coil facility,
wherein the connecting portion in the recess is configured to be guided displaceably along a longitudinal direction of the recess between different positions in which the connecting portion is configured to be held,
wherein the recess and the connecting portion are configured for continuous displacement of the connecting portion in the recess,
wherein the connecting portion is configured to be held at every position of the continuous displacement, and
wherein the object-table-side connecting device is configured such that, by the holding of the connecting portion in the recess, the object-table-side connecting device establishes together with a coil-facility-side connecting device arranged on the connecting portion one or more of the following: an electrical connection for a power supply for the coil facility, an electrical connection for a signal transmission between the coil facility and the object table, or at least one optical connection for the signal transmission between the coil facility and the object table.

15. A coil facility configured to be used in a magnetic resonance facility, the coil facility comprising:
at least one local coil; and
at least one connecting portion configured to be introduced into a recess of an object table and held in the recess to hold the coil facility,
wherein the connecting portion in the recess is configured to be guided displaceably along a longitudinal direction of the recess between different positions in which the connecting portion is configured to be held,
wherein the recess and the connecting portion are configured for continuous displacement of the connecting portion in the recess,
wherein the connecting portion is configured to be held at every position of the continuous displacement, and
wherein at least one coil-facility-side connecting device is

Assignees

• Hesels Katharina
• Roell Stefan
• Siemens Healthcare Gmbh

Inventors

• Hesels Katharina
• Röll Stefan

Classifications

• G01R33/34007 Primary

  Manufacture of RF coils, e.g. using printed circuit board technology; additional hardware for providing mechanical support to the RF coil assembly or to part thereof, e.g. a support for moving the coil assembly relative to the remainder of the MR system · CPC title

• G01R33/3415

  comprising arrays of sub-coils {, i.e. phased-array coils with flexible receiver channels} · CPC title

• G01R33/30

  Sample handling arrangements, e.g. sample cells, spinning mechanisms · CPC title

• G01R33/34084

  implantable coils or coils being geometrically adaptable to the sample, e.g. flexible coils or coils comprising mutually movable parts · CPC title

• G01R33/3692

  involving signal transmission without using electrically conductive connections, e.g. wireless communication or optical communication of the MR signal or an auxiliary signal other than the MR signal · CPC title