Excitation Device, System and Method for Neck-Driven Head Magnetic Resonance Elastography

Abstract

The present invention provides an excitation device, system and method for head magnetic resonance elastography driven by the neck. The excitation device includes an electromagnetic drive structure. The electromagnetic drive structure acts on the human neck to achieve vibration of the human neck, and the vibration is transmitted to the brain tissue through the human tissue connecting the human neck and the head. The present invention greatly simplifies the structural complexity of the head magnetic resonance elastography excitation device while ensuring the vibration effect. By adopting a neck drive structure, the drive mechanism is separated from the head coil, and no additional fixing and positioning mechanism is required, thus solving the problem of wide applicability for different head coil structures.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to magnetic resonance technology, and in particular, to an excitation device, system and method for head magnetic resonance elastography driven by the neck. Background Art

[0002] As is well known, Magnetic Resonance Elastography (MRE) is a non-invasive imaging examination method for quantitatively detecting the elasticity and structure of soft tissues. During the MRE detection process, a vibration excitation device is usually required to conduct relatively slight mechanical vibrations to the tissue site to be detected, so that the nuclear magnetic resonance machine can collect the dynamic propagation information of the vibration wave in the tissue.

[0003] However, most of the current head magnetic resonance elastography excitation devices mostly adopt the method of wrapping the head to generate vibrations. The head coil structure requires an additional mechanism for positioning and fixing the driving coil to work together. Therefore, different mechanisms for positioning and fixing the driving coil are required to cooperate with different head coil structures, which undoubtedly has a huge applicability problem. In addition, since both the driving excitation device and magnetic resonance elastography act on the head, this electromagnetic driving may cause certain signal interference problems, and at the same time, directly generating vibrations on the head may cause motion artifact problems. In terms of ergonomics, in order to adapt to the relatively small operating space in the head coil, most of the electromagnetic excitation devices for wrapping the head adopt a split design. This requires the subject to first wear the head vibrator externally and then enter the head coil to connect other driving structures. This undoubtedly increases the burden on the operator and the single scan time of magnetic resonance elastography.

[0004] Patent document CN2017205166572 discloses a head magnetic resonance elastography driving device. This head magnetic resonance elastography driving device makes the coil reciprocate in a magnetic field environment by receiving signals sent by a signal generator, driving a pressure plate to vibrate the head, so as to achieve head magnetic resonance elastography; it exactly uses the method of directly vibrating the head to generate the mechanical wave required for magnetic resonance elastography, and a bracket matching the head coil needs to be designed to position and fix the driving device, with a complex structure and unable to adapt to different specifications of head coils. Summary of the Invention

[0005] Aiming at the defects in the prior art, the purpose of the present invention is to provide an excitation device, system and method for head magnetic resonance elastography driven by the neck. The present invention greatly simplifies the structural complexity of the head magnetic resonance elastography excitation device while ensuring the vibration effect; by adopting a neck driving structure, the driving mechanism is separated from the head coil, and no additional fixing and positioning mechanism is required, solving the problem of wide applicability for different head coil structures.

[0006] An excitation device for neck-driven head magnetic resonance elastography according to the present invention includes an electromagnetic drive structure;

[0007] The electromagnetic drive structure acts on the human neck to vibrate the human neck, and the vibration is transmitted to the brain tissue through the human tissue connecting the human neck and the head.

[0008] Preferably, the electromagnetic drive structure includes a base plate, a connecting rod, and a neck coil;

[0009] The base plate is connected to the connecting rod; the base plate can be set into any adaptable structure capable of supporting the neck, usually set in a cuboid shape, to support the neck and transmit vibration.

[0010] The neck coil is connected to the base plate through the connecting rod. Specifically, the connecting rod is threadedly connected to the neck coil. After the neck coil is energized, the vibration generated under the electromagnetic drive is transmitted to the human neck through the connected base plate.

[0011] Preferably, the base plate is movably connected to the connecting rod. The base plate and the connecting rod can be movably connected or rigidly connected at a certain angle. The movable connection can refer to a hinge connection, a detachable form, or a form in which the distance or angle between the base plate and the connecting rod can be adjusted through a telescopic rod, etc., to improve the adaptability of the excitation device for neck-driven head magnetic resonance elastography to cooperate with the head coil.

[0012] Preferably, the length of the connecting rod is adjustable. Specifically, the connecting rod can be set as a telescopic rod type or an elastic adjustment form, etc., to meet the needs of different application scenarios.

[0013] The present invention also provides a system for neck-driven head magnetic resonance elastography, including a head coil and the above-mentioned excitation device for neck-driven head magnetic resonance elastography. The head coil encloses a receiving space, and the excitation device for neck-driven head magnetic resonance elastography is placed outside the head coil.

[0014] Preferably, it further includes a main magnet, a magnetic resonance control terminal, a signal generator, and a power amplifier;

[0015] The magnetic resonance control terminal, the signal generator, the power amplifier, and the excitation device for neck-driven head magnetic resonance elastography are connected in sequence; the neck coil is located in the magnetic field generated by the main magnet.

[0016] Preferably, the neck coil is connected to the power amplifier through a wire transmission line;

[0017] The extending direction of the wire transmission line is consistent with the direction of the magnetic field generated by the main magnet.

[0018] The present invention also provides a method for neck-driven head magnetic resonance elastography, including the neck-driven head magnetic resonance elastography system described above, and further including the following steps:

[0019] S1 The subject presses the neck against the bottom plate, and the neck coil inputs a driving current.

[0020] S2 The magnetic resonance control terminal issues a trigger signal according to the time points set by the scanning sequence to synchronize the sequence scanning of the vibration of the neck coil.

[0021] S3 After receiving the trigger signal, the signal generator issues a driving signal. After the vibration power is amplified by the power amplifier, it is transmitted to the neck coil through the driving wire.

[0022] S4 After the neck coil starts to vibrate under the drive of the magnetic field of the main magnet, the vibration is transmitted to the bottom plate through the connecting rod, the bottom plate transmits the vibration to the neck, and finally the vibration is transmitted to the brain tissue through the human tissue connecting the neck and the head.

[0023] Preferably, the driving current is periodic. Specifically, in addition to using alternating current of a specific single frequency, the driving current can include a fused alternating current of multiple frequencies and a pulsed current with a constant period, etc., which can all be used as the energization method for generating vibration.

[0024] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0025] 1. By adopting a neck-driven structure, the present invention separates the driving mechanism from the head coil, eliminating the need for additional fixing and positioning mechanisms, and solving the problem of wide applicability to different head coil structures.

[0026] 2. By arranging the driving coil away from the head coil, the present invention solves the problem of possible signal interference in electromagnetic driving.

[0027] 3. By concentrating the vibration displacement generated by the driver in the neck and transmitting it to the head, the present invention solves the problem of possible motion artifacts caused by directly generating vibration in the head.

[0028] 4. The present invention greatly simplifies the structural complexity of the head magnetic resonance elastography excitation device while ensuring the vibration effect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0029] By reading the detailed description of the non-limiting embodiments with reference to the following drawings, other features, objects, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent:

[0030] Figure 1Schematic diagram of the excitation device for neck-driven head magnetic resonance elastography of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the system for neck-driven head magnetic resonance elastography of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the system for neck-driven head magnetic resonance elastography of the present invention

[0033] As shown in the figure:

[0034] Base plate 1, connecting rod 2, neck coil 3, head coil 4. Specific implementation manner

[0035] The present invention will be described in detail below in conjunction with specific embodiments. The following embodiments will help those skilled in the art to further understand the present invention, but do not limit the present invention in any form. It should be noted that for those of ordinary skill in the art, without departing from the concept of the present invention, several changes and improvements can still be made. These all belong to the protection scope of the present invention.

[0036] The present invention provides an excitation device for neck-driven head magnetic resonance elastography, including an electromagnetic drive structure; the electromagnetic drive structure acts on the human neck to realize the vibration of the human neck, and the vibration is transmitted to the brain tissue through the human tissue connecting the human neck and the head. By adopting the neck drive structure, the drive mechanism is separated from the head coil, and no additional fixing and positioning mechanisms are required, solving the problem of wide applicability for different head coil structures.

[0037] Specifically, the electromagnetic drive structure includes a base plate 1, a connecting rod 2 and a neck coil 3; the base plate 1 is connected to the connecting rod 2; the neck coil 3 is connected to the base plate 1 through the connecting rod 2. Among them, the connecting rod 2 and the neck coil 3 are connected by threads. The base plate 1 and the connecting rod 2 can be movably connected, or can be rigidly connected at a certain angle. The movable connection can refer to a hinge connection, or a detachable form, or a form in which the distance or angle between the base plate 1 and the connecting rod 2 can be adjusted through a telescopic rod, etc., to improve the adaptability of the excitation device for neck-driven head magnetic resonance elastography to cooperate with the head coil 4. The length of the connecting rod 2 is adjustable, and can be set as a telescopic rod type, or an elastic adjustment form, etc., to meet the needs of different application scenarios. The base plate 1 can be set into any adaptable structure capable of supporting the neck, and is usually set in a cuboid shape to realize supporting the neck and transmitting vibration.

[0038] Such as Figure 1As shown, in an example of an embodiment, an excitation device for neck-driven head magnetic resonance elastography includes an electromagnetic drive structure. The electromagnetic drive structure includes a base plate 1, a connecting rod 2, and a neck coil 3. The neck coil 3 generates vibrations, and transmits the vibrations to the base plate 1 through the connecting rod 2, and then to the human neck and then to the brain tissue. The base plate 1 is placed outside the magnetic resonance head coil 4. The neck coil 3 is connected to the base plate 1 through the connecting rod 2. In order to make the vibrations be transmitted to the subject's neck more efficiently, in this embodiment, a rigid connection is used between the base plate 1 and the connecting rod 2, and the base plate 1 is made of a rigid material. After the neck coil 3 is energized, it generates vibrations under the action of the main magnetic field B0, and transmits the vibrations to the base plate 1 through the connecting rod 2. The subject's neck presses on the base plate 1, and the base plate 1 transmits the vibrations to the neck, and finally transmits the vibrations to the brain tissue through the human tissue connecting the neck and the head. The vibrations no longer act directly on the head, but act on the neck and then are transmitted to the head. The arrangement method of placing the drive coil, that is, the neck coil 3 in this embodiment, away from the head coil 4 solves the problem of signal interference that may exist in electromagnetic drive.

[0039] Specifically, the form of the current passed through the neck coil 3 needs to match the scanning method of magnetic resonance elastography. As long as the current has a certain periodicity, it can be used as the drive current. Therefore, in addition to using alternating current with a specific single frequency, fused alternating current containing multiple frequencies and pulsed current with a constant period can also be used as the energization method for generating vibrations. Preferably, the energization method uses alternating current with a single frequency to avoid the high requirements for the frequency response of the vibration system and the time resolution of the imaging system due to a complex drive method with complex frequency components.

[0040] The embodiment of the present invention also provides a system for neck-driven head magnetic resonance elastography, as Figure 2 shown, including a head coil 4 and the excitation device for neck-driven head magnetic resonance elastography described above. The head coil 4 encloses a receiving space, and the excitation device for neck-driven head magnetic resonance elastography is placed outside the head coil 4.

[0041] As Figure 2 shown, the system for neck-driven head magnetic resonance elastography further includes a main magnet, a magnetic resonance control end, a signal generator, and a power amplifier. The magnetic resonance control end, the signal generator, the power amplifier, and the excitation device for neck-driven head magnetic resonance elastography are connected in sequence. Among them, the neck coil 3 is located in the magnetic field generated by the main magnet. The neck coil 3 is connected to the power amplifier through a wire transmission line. The extending direction of the wire transmission line is consistent with the direction of the magnetic field generated by the main magnet.

[0042] Specifically, the magnetic resonance control terminal sends out a trigger signal according to the time point set by the scanning sequence to synchronize the sequence scanning of the vibration of the neck coil 3. After receiving the trigger signal, the signal generator sends out a driving signal, which is amplified by the power amplifier to increase the vibration power and then transmitted to the neck coil 3 through the driving wire. The neck coil 3 starts to vibrate under the drive of the main magnetic field B0 of the main magnet in the magnetic resonance room. The wire transmission line of the neck coil 3 of the electromagnetic drive structure is led out along the direction of the B0 main magnetic field, which can effectively avoid the problem of reducing the signal-to-noise ratio of the collected signal.

[0043] The electromagnetic drive structure is separated from the head coil 4 and is no longer affected by the structure of the head coil 4, solving the problem of wide applicability for different head coil structures.

[0044] In addition, in this embodiment, through the electromagnetic drive method, the problem of generating the external vibration required for magnetic resonance elastography is solved; at the same time, there is no need to set up a relatively heavy vibration motor and other structures, reducing the overall weight of the magnetic resonance elastography excitation device. In addition, the magnetic resonance elastography excitation device may be in a strong magnetic environment, and using the neck coil 3 can effectively adapt to the influence of the strong magnetic environment on the vibration movement.

[0045] The working principle of the present invention is as follows:

[0046] The subject presses the neck against the bottom plate 1, and an alternating current is passed through the neck coil 3. The magnetic resonance control terminal sends out a trigger signal according to the time point set by the scanning sequence to synchronize the sequence scanning of the vibration of the neck coil 3. After receiving the trigger signal, the signal generator sends out a driving signal, which is amplified by the power amplifier to increase the vibration power and then transmitted to the neck coil 3 through the driving wire. The neck coil 3 starts to vibrate under the drive of the main magnetic field B0 of the main magnet, and transmits the vibration to the bottom plate 1 through the connecting rod 2. The bottom plate 1 transmits the vibration to the neck, and finally the vibration is transmitted to the brain tissue through the human tissue connecting the neck and the head.

[0047] In the description of the present application, it should be understood that the orientation or positional relationship indicated by the terms "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", etc. is based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, and is only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation of the present application.

[0048] The specific embodiments of the present invention have been described above. It should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the above specific embodiments, and those skilled in the art can make various changes or modifications within the scope of the claims, which do not affect the essence of the present invention. Without conflict, the embodiments of the present application and the features in the embodiments can be combined with each other arbitrarily.

Claims

1. An excitation device for neck-driven head magnetic resonance elastography, characterized in that, It includes an electromagnetic drive structure; The electromagnetic drive structure acts on the human neck to achieve vibration of the human neck, and the vibration is transmitted to the brain tissue through the human tissue connecting the human neck and the head; The electromagnetic drive structure includes a bottom plate (1), a connecting rod (2) and a neck coil (3); The neck coil (3) is connected to the bottom plate (1) through the connecting rod (2); After the neck coil (3) is energized, a magnetic field is generated and vibration is generated under the action of the magnetic field, and the vibration is transmitted to the bottom plate (1) through the connecting rod (2). The neck of the subject presses on the bottom plate (1), so that the bottom plate (1) transmits the vibration to the neck, and finally the vibration is transmitted to the brain tissue through the human tissue connecting the neck and the head. Among them, the transmission of the vibration from the connecting rod (2) to the bottom plate (1) is a non-lever structure.

2. The excitation device for neck-driven head magnetic resonance elastography according to claim 1, wherein The bottom plate (1) is movably connected to the connecting rod (2).

3. The excitation device for neck-driven head magnetic resonance elastography according to claim 1, wherein The length of the connecting rod (2) is adjustable.

4. The excitation device for neck-driven head magnetic resonance elastography according to claim 1, wherein, The connecting rod (2) is threadedly connected to the neck coil (3).

5. A neck-driven head magnetic resonance elastography system, characterized in that, It includes a head coil (4) and an excitation device for head magnetic resonance elastography driven by the neck as described in any one of claims 1-4. The head coil (4) encloses a receiving space, and the excitation device for head magnetic resonance elastography driven by the neck is placed outside the head coil (4).

6. The system for neck-driven head magnetic resonance elastography according to claim 5, characterized in that, It also includes a main magnet, a magnetic resonance control end, a signal generator, and a power amplifier; The magnetic resonance control end, the signal generator, the power amplifier, and the excitation device for head magnetic resonance elastography driven by the neck are connected in sequence; the neck coil (3) is located in the magnetic field generated by the main magnet.

7. The system for neck-driven head magnetic resonance elastography according to claim 6, wherein, The neck coil (3) is connected to the power amplifier through a wire transmission line; The extending direction of the wire transmission line is consistent with the direction of the magnetic field generated by the main magnet.

8. A method for neck-driven head magnetic resonance elastography, characterized in that, It includes a system for head magnetic resonance elastography driven by the neck as described in any one of claims 6, and also includes the following steps: S1: The neck of the subject presses on the bottom plate (1), and a driving current is input to the neck coil (3); S2: The magnetic resonance control end sends a trigger signal according to the time point set by the scanning sequence to synchronously scan the vibration of the neck coil (3); S3: After receiving the trigger signal, the signal generator sends a driving signal, which is amplified by the power amplifier to increase the vibration power, and then is transmitted to the neck coil (3) through the driving wire; S4: After the neck coil (3) starts to vibrate under the drive of the magnetic field of the main magnet, the vibration is transmitted to the bottom plate (1) through the connecting rod (2), the bottom plate (1) transmits the vibration to the neck, and finally the vibration is transmitted to the brain tissue through the human tissue connecting the neck and the head.

9. The method for neck-driven head magnetic resonance elastography according to claim 8, characterized in that, The driving current is periodic.

Images