Combined HF/shim/gradient signal routing

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9588197-B2
Application number	US-201314030641-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 18, 2013
Priority date	Sep 19, 2012
Publication date	Mar 7, 2017
Grant date	Mar 7, 2017

Abstract

A method and a magnetic resonance tomography (MRT) system are provided. The MRT system includes at least one cable. The MRT system is configured to transmit high frequency (HF) signals for at least one HF transmitting coil, and shim signals for at least one shim coil and/or gradient signals for at least one gradient coil in the at least one cable.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for transmitting signals in a cable in an imaging magnetic resonance tomography (MRT) system, the method comprising:
transmitting, with the cable, a combination of high frequency (HF) signals for an HF transmitting local coil of the imaging MRT system and shim signals for a shim coil, gradient signals for a gradient coil, or the shim signals and the gradient signals,
wherein the local coil comprises the shim coil, the gradient coil, or the shim coil and the gradient coil.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the transmitting comprises transmitting the combination of only the HF signals and the shim signals with the cable.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the transmitting comprises transmitting the combination of only the HF signals and the gradient signals with the cable.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the transmitting comprises transmitting the combination of the HF signals, the shim signals, and the gradient signals with the cable.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein transmitting in the cable comprises transmitting in a coaxial cable.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the cable is a first cable, and wherein the method further comprises:
providing the first cable and the second cable to the local coil of the MRT system,
wherein the transmitting comprises transmitting the combination of the HF signals and the shim signals, the gradient signals, or the shim signals and the gradient signals with the first cable and the second cable.

7. The method as claimed in claim 6 , wherein providing the first cable and the second cable to the local coil comprises providing the first cable and the second cable to a multi-channel coil.

8. The method as claimed in claim 7 , wherein the HF transmitting coil comprises one of a plurality of transmitting coils, the shim coil comprises one of a plurality of shim coils, and the gradient coil comprises one of a plurality of gradient coils, and
wherein the multi-channel coil comprises the plurality of transmitting coils and the plurality of shim coils, the plurality of gradient coils, or the plurality of shim coils and the plurality of gradient coils.

9. The method as claimed in claim 6 , wherein transmitting with the first cable and the second cable comprises transmitting:
exactly one HF channel in the form of a transmission of the HF signals to at least one HF transmitting coil of the local coil; and
exactly one shim channel in the form of a transmission of the shim signals to at least one shim coil of the local coil, exactly one gradient channel in the form of a transmission of the gradient signals to at least one gradient coil of the local coil, or the exactly one shim channel and the exactly one gradient channel.

10. The method as claimed in claim 6 , wherein an HF channel in the cable comprises transmitting at least some of the HF signals to at least one transmitting coil of the local coil, a shim channel in the cable comprises transmitting at least some of the shim signals to at least one shim coil of the local coil, a gradient channel comprises transmitting at least some of the gradient signals to at least one gradient coil of the local coil, or a combination thereof.

11. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the transmitting comprises transmitting shim signals with shim currents of 0.5-10 ampere.

12. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the transmitting comprises transmitting in the cable with a copper cross section that is five to twenty mm.

13. The method as claimed in claim 12 , wherein the copper cross section is ten mm.

14. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the cable runs between a local coil and an interface on the MRT system, an interface on a patient couch, or an interface on the MRT system and an interface on the patient couch.

15. The method as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising feeding the HF signals and the shim signals, the gradient signals, or the shim signals and the gradient signals into the cable.

16. A magnetic resonance tomography (MRT) system comprising:
a transmitting local coil comprising a shim coil, a gradient coil, or the shim coil and the gradient coil; and
a cable,
wherein the cable is configured to transmit:
a combination of high frequency (HF) signals for the HF transmitting local coil and shim signals for a shim coil, gradient signals for a gradient coil, or the shim signals and the gradient signals.

17. The MRT system as claimed in claim 16 , wherein the cable is configured to transmit the combination of only the HF signals and the shim signals.

18. The MRT system as claimed in claim 16 , wherein the cable is configured to transmit the combination of only the HF signals and the gradient signals.

19. The MRT system as claimed in claim 16 , wherein the cable is configured to transmit the combination of the HF signals, the shim signals, and the gradient signals.

20. The MRT system as claimed in claim 16 , wherein the cable is a coaxial cable.

21. The MRT system as claimed in claim 16 , wherein the cable comprises one of a plurality of cables, and
wherein the plurality of the cables, interfaces for the plurality of cables, or the plurality of cables and the interfaces for the plurality of cables are configured such that the plurality of cables transmit the combination of the HF signals and the shim signals, the gradient signals, or the shim signals and the gradient signals.

22. The MRT system as claimed in claim 16 , the transmitting local coil that is a multi-channel coil.

23. The MRT system as claimed in claim 22 , wherein the multi-channel coil comprises a plurality of transmitting coils, a plurality of shim coils, a plurality of gradient coils, or a combination thereof.

24. The MRT system as claimed in claim 22 , wherein the cable comprises:
exactly one HF channel in the form of a transmission of the HF signals to the at least one HF transmitting coil of the local coil; and
exactly one shim channel in the form of the transmission of the shim signals to the at least one shim coil of the local coil, exactly one gradient channel in the form of the transmission of the gradient signals to the at least one gradient coil of the local coil, or the one shim channel and the one gradient channel.

25. The MRT system as claimed in claim 22 , wherein an HF channel in the cable includes the transmission of the HF signals to the at least one HF transmitting coil of the local coil, a shim channel in the cable includes the transmission of the shim signals to the at least one shim coil of the local coil, a gradient channel includes the transmission of the gradient signals to the at least one gradient coil of the local coil, or a combination thereof.

26. The MRT system as claimed in claim 16 , wherein the shim signals are shim currents of 0.5-10 ampere.

27. The MRT system as claimed in claim 20 , wherein a copper cross section of the coaxial cable is 5-20 mm.

28. The MRT system as claimed in claim 27 , wherein the copper cross section is 10mm.

29. The MRT system as claimed in claim 16 , wherein the cable runs between a local coil and an interface on a patient couch.

30. The MRT system as claimed in claim 16 , wherein the cable runs between an interface on the MRT system, on a patient couch, or on the MRT system and the patient couch, and

Assignees

• Biber Stephan
• Renz Wolfgang
• Ruff Jan
• Siemens Ag

Inventors

• Biber Stephan
• Renz Wolfgang
• Ruff Jan

Classifications

• G01R33/3875

  using correction coil assemblies, e.g. active shimming · CPC title

• G01R33/385

  using gradient magnetic field coils · CPC title

• G01R33/34 Primary

  Constructional details, e.g. resonators {, specially adapted to MR} · CPC title

• G01R33/36 Primary

  Electrical details, e.g. matching or coupling of the coil to the receiver · CPC title

• A61B5/055 Primary

  involving electronic [EMR] or nuclear [NMR] magnetic resonance, e.g. magnetic resonance imaging · CPC title