Radiation-transparent, low-cost, lightweight, versatile, composite radio frequency coil for MRI

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10578685-B2
Application number	US-201615547103-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 21, 2016
Priority date	Feb 3, 2015
Publication date	Mar 3, 2020
Grant date	Mar 3, 2020

Abstract

A radio frequency coil (34), for use in a medical modality including at least a magnetic resonance examination system (10), comprises: a right hollow cylinder-shaped patient bore lining (36), an inner carrier member (40) that is fixedly attached to an outwardly directed surface of the patient bore lining (36), a radio frequency antenna (42), fixedly attached to an antenna carrier member (44) made from a composite material, which in turn is fixedly attached to an outwardly directed surface of the inner carrier member (40), at least one outer carrier spacer member (48), arranged on at least one out of the at least one radio frequency antenna (42) or an outwardly directed surface of the antenna carrier member (44), and providing a free end-to-end space (50) in a direction parallel to the center axis (38) of the patient bore lining (36), a right hollow cylinder-shaped outer carrier member (52) with a center axis (54), which in an operational state is arranged in parallel to the center axis (38) of the patient bore lining (36), and is in mechanical contact with outwardly directed surfaces of the outer carrier spacer members (48), and a shell member (58) that is in mechanical contact with an outwardly directed surface of the outer carrier member (52); and a medical modality including at least a magnetic resonance examination system (10) with such radio frequency coil (34).

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A radio frequency coil for use in a medical modality including at least a magnetic resonance examination system, and configured for being arranged within an examination space of the magnetic resonance examination system, wherein a main magnet is configured for generating a static magnetic field B0 at least within the examination space, the radio frequency coil comprising:
a patient bore lining having a shape of a right hollow cylinder with a center axis and comprising a single layer arranged around the center axis as an inner lining of the radio frequency coil around the center axis;
an inner carrier member that is in mechanical contact with at least a major part of an outwardly directed surface of the single layer of the patient bore lining and is fixedly attached to the patient bore lining;
at least one radio frequency antenna fixedly attached to an antenna carrier member, wherein the antenna carrier member is made from a composite material, and is fixedly attached to an outwardly directed surface of the inner carrier member;
at least one outer carrier spacer member that is arranged on at least one of the at least one radio frequency antenna or an outwardly directed surface of the antenna carrier member, wherein the at least one outer carrier spacer member provides a free end-to-end space in a direction parallel to the center axis;
an outer carrier member substantially made from polymeric foam and shaped as a right hollow cylinder having a center axis, which in an operational state is arranged in parallel to the center axis of the patient bore lining, and that is in mechanical contact with at least a major part of a total area of outwardly directed surfaces of the at least one outer carrier spacer member; and
a shell member that is in mechanical contact with at least a major part of an outwardly directed surface of the outer carrier member and comprising a single layer arranged around the center axis and spaces apart from the patient bore lining throughout.

2. The radio frequency coil as claimed in claim 1 , wherein each one of the inner carrier member, the at least one outer carrier spacer member and the outer carrier member has a uniform thickness in a radial direction with regard to the center axis of the patient bore lining.

3. The radio frequency coil as claimed in claim 1 , wherein, in the operational state, at least the center axis of the patient bore lining and the center axis of the outer carrier member coincide.

4. The radio frequency coil as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising a radio frequency screen that is fixedly attached to the shell member serving as a carrier.

5. The radio frequency coil as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of outer carrier spacer member, wherein at least two of the outer carrier spacer members are spaced in an azimuthal direction about the center axis of the patient bore lining to provide the free end-to-end space.

6. The radio frequency coil as claimed in claim 5 , wherein each outer carrier spacer member of the plurality of outer carrier spacer members is disposed in such a way that a direction of largest extension is arranged in parallel to the center axis of the patient bore lining.

7. The radio frequency coil as claimed in claim 5 , wherein a largest dimension of a majority of the plurality of outer carrier spacer members is substantially equal to a dimension of the antenna carrier member, taken in a direction parallel to the center axis of the patient bore lining.

8. The radio frequency coil as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the patient bore lining and the antenna carrier member are substantially made from a fiber-reinforced plastic composite material.

9. The radio frequency coil as claimed in claim 8 , wherein the fiber-reinforced plastic composite material comprises at least one out of glass and carbon as fiber material, and at least one out of epoxy resin and polyester resin as matrix material.

10. The radio frequency coil as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the inner carrier member is substantially made from a polymeric foam material.

11. The radio frequency coil as claimed in claim 10 , wherein the polymeric foam material has a volumetric mass density between 25 kg/m 3 and 250 kg/m 3 .

12. The radio frequency coil as claimed in claim 10 , wherein the polymeric foam material comprises at least one out of polyvinyliden fluoride and polymethacrylimide.

13. The radio frequency coil as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the at least one radio frequency antenna comprises at least one member made from metal foil, metal mesh or electrically conductive coating that is fixedly attached to the antenna carrier member by an adhesive bond.

14. A medical modality including at least a magnetic resonance examination system with a main magnet that is configured for generating a static magnetic field B0 at least within an examination space, the medical modality further comprising a radio frequency coil as claimed in claim 1 .

15. A radio frequency coil for use in a medical modality including at least a magnetic resonance examination system, the radio frequency coil comprising:
a patient bore lining having a shape of a right hollow cylinder with a center axis and comprising a single layer arranged around the center axis as an inner lining of the radio frequency coil around the center axis;
an inner carrier member that is in mechanical contact with an outwardly directed surface of the single layer of the patient bore lining and is fixedly attached to the patient bore lining;
at least one radio frequency antenna fixedly attached to an antenna carrier member, wherein the antenna carrier member is fixedly attached to an outwardly directed surface of the inner carrier member;
at least one outer carrier spacer member that is arranged on at least one of the at least one radio frequency antenna or an outwardly directed surface of the antenna carrier member, wherein the at least one outer carrier spacer member provides a free end-to-end space in a direction parallel to the center axis;
an outer carrier member shaped as a right hollow cylinder having a center axis, which in an operational state is arranged in parallel to the center axis of the patient bore lining, and that is in mechanical contact with outwardly directed surfaces of the at least one outer carrier spacer member; and
a shell member that is in mechanical contact with an outwardly directed surface of the outer carrier member and comprising a single layer arranged around the center axis and spaces apart from the patient bore lining throughout.

16. The radio frequency coil of claim 15 , wherein each one of the inner carrier member, the at least one outer carrier spacer member and the outer carrier member has a uniform thickness in a radial direction with regard to the center axis of the patient bore lining.

17. The radio frequency coil of claim 15 , further comprising a radio frequency screen that is fixedly attached to the shell member serving as a carrier.

18. The radio frequency coil of claim 15 , further comprising a plurality of outer carrier spacer member, wherein at least two of the outer carrier spacer members are spaced in an azimuthal direction about the center axis of the patient bore lining to provide the free end-to-end space.

19. The radio frequency coil of claim 15 , wherein each outer carrier spacer member of the at least one outer carrier spacer members is disposed in such a way that a direction of largest extension is arranged in parallel to the center axis of the patient bore lining.

Assignees

• Koninklijke Philips Nv

Inventors

• Uhlemann Falk
• Lips Oliver

Classifications

• G01R33/481

  MR combined with positron emission tomography [PET] or single photon emission computed tomography [SPECT] · CPC title

• G01R33/34046

  Volume type coils, e.g. bird-cage coils; Quadrature bird-cage coils; Circularly polarised coils · CPC title

• 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