Radio frequency coil assembly and animal magnetic resonance imaging system thereof

Abstract

The utility model relates to the technical field of magnetic resonance scanning, in particular to a radio frequency coil assembly and an animal magnetic resonance imaging system thereof. The radio frequency coil assembly comprises a supporting frame and a volume coil, one end of the supporting frame is connected with the volume coil, the volume coil is provided with an inner wall, an outer wall and a hollow cavity, a coil conductor of the volume coil is located in the hollow cavity, a ventilation opening is formed in the end, close to the supporting frame, of the volume coil, and an air outlet is formed in the other end of the volume coil. The volume coil is a ventilation opening and an air outlet which are communicated with the hollow cavity; an air inlet is formed in the end, away from the volume coil, of the supporting frame, an air channel is formed in the supporting frame, and the air inlet communicates with the air channel and communicates with the ventilation opening through the air channel. The volume coil has the advantages that the hollow cavity is formed by the inner wall and the outer wall of the volume coil in a matched mode, so that the hollow cavity surrounds the volume coil by one circle in the circumferential direction, cooling air flows in the hollow cavity more freely and evenly, heat of the volume coil can be taken away, and the even cooling effect can be achieved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of magnetic resonance scanning, in particular to a radio frequency coil component and an animal magnetic resonance imaging system thereof. Background Art

[0002] In animal MRI experiments, multimodal research methods such as damaged neural recording and neural regulation are usually combined to obtain more accurate neural activity information, which is indispensable for conducting functional MRI signal mechanism research, neural circuit mechanism, and neural connectivity research based on causal methods. Moreover, animal MRI research can also be transformed into human brain functional MRI research, which has a guiding role in advanced non-destructive MRI methods such as human brain imaging.

[0003] During animal MRI, the heat from the gradient coil is easily transferred to the volume coil because of the small aperture and compact space of the animal MRI system and the small gap between the volume coil and the gradient coil. The volume coil itself also has heat sources such as capacitors, and the volume coil itself has a very small volume and space. These accumulated heat energies not only affect the imaging quality, but also pose a threat to the scanned animal in the volume coil. Utility Model Content

[0004] Based on this, the utility model provides a radio frequency coil assembly for animal magnetic resonance imaging in order to solve the above technical problems.

[0005] A radio frequency coil assembly for animal magnetic resonance imaging, the radio frequency coil assembly comprising: a support frame, one end of the support frame is connected to a volume coil; a volume coil, the volume coil has an inner wall and an outer wall, a hollow cavity is formed between the inner wall and the outer wall, and the coil conductor of the volume coil is located in the hollow cavity; the volume coil has a vent at one end close to the support frame, and an air outlet at the other end of the volume coil, and the vent and the air outlet are both connected to the hollow cavity; wherein, the support frame has an air inlet at one end away from the volume coil, and the support frame has an air duct, and the air inlet is connected to the air duct and is connected to the vent through the air duct.

[0006] In this way, the support frame can extend the volume coil, which is easy to operate and avoids the difficulty in replacing and connecting the air inlet pipe due to the coil entering the gradient coil too deeply. Since the air inlet is opened at the end of the support frame away from the volume coil, it will not affect the setting of the volume coil. The air duct in the support frame allows the cooling air flowing in from the air inlet to flow smoothly into the vent of the volume coil, and flow into the hollow cavity through the vent, and finally flow out from the air outlet. The hollow cavity is formed by the inner wall and the outer wall of the volume coil. Therefore, the hollow cavity surrounds the volume coil along the circumference, and the cooling air flows more freely and evenly therein, so it can not only take away the heat of the volume coil, but also have the effect of uniform cooling.

[0007] In one embodiment, there are multiple ventilation holes and multiple air outlets, and the multiple ventilation holes are arranged at intervals along the circumference of the volume coil, and the multiple air outlets are arranged at intervals along the circumference of the volume coil at the other end of the volume coil.

[0008] In one embodiment, the air duct includes at least one main air duct and multiple sub-air ducts corresponding to each main air duct, one end of each main air duct is connected to one of the air inlets, the other end of each main air duct is connected to the corresponding multiple sub-air ducts, and each of the sub-air ducts is connected to a corresponding ventilation port.

[0009] In one embodiment, the air duct includes two main air ducts, and the end of the support frame away from the volume coil has two air inlets, and each of the main air ducts is connected to one of the air inlets.

[0010] In one embodiment, the air duct is located in the support frame, and the air duct and the support frame are integrally formed.

[0011] In one embodiment, the air inlet is configured to be waist-shaped, the vent is configured to be waist-shaped, and the air outlet is configured to be waist-shaped.

[0012] In one embodiment, the number of the air inlets is smaller than the number of the ventilation openings, and the number of the ventilation openings is smaller than the number of the air outlets.

[0013] In one embodiment, the radio frequency coil assembly further includes an air inlet assembly, the air inlet assembly includes an air pipe and a quick-connect joint, and the air pipe is detachably connected to the air inlet via the quick-connect joint.

[0014] In one embodiment, the air inlet assembly further includes an air source and a control valve, the air source is connected to the air pipe, and the control valve is installed on the air pipe and can control the opening and closing of the air pipe.

[0015] In one embodiment, the upper portion of the support frame is an open structure, the plurality of air ducts are located at the lower portion of the support frame, and the corresponding ventilation openings are located at the lower portion of the volume coil.

[0016] The utility model also provides an animal magnetic resonance imaging system, which comprises: a magnet, which is used to generate a main magnetic field, and the center of the magnet has a cavity; a gradient coil, which is arranged in the cavity of the magnet, and the center of the gradient coil has a scanning cavity; and the radio frequency coil assembly as described above, which can be detachably installed in the scanning cavity of the gradient coil.

[0017] In one embodiment, the inner diameter of the scanning cavity is 150-300mm, the inner diameter of the volume coil is 50-100mm, the outer diameter is 100-200mm, and the length is 250-450mm; or, the inner diameter of the volume coil is 80-100mm, the outer diameter is 100-150mm, the length is 250-450mm, and the gap of the hollow cavity is 20-50mm.

[0018] Compared with the prior art, the utility model provides an air inlet and an air duct on the support frame to input cooling air to the volume coil, thereby cooling the volume coil, and the volume coil has multiple air inlets and multiple air outlets evenly spaced, so that the cooling air can evenly enter the hollow cavity of the volume coil, and no independent or separated air ducts are no longer provided in the hollow cavity, so that sufficient heat exchange with the volume coil is achieved, achieving a uniform cooling effect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] Figure 1 A schematic structural diagram of one embodiment of a radio frequency coil assembly provided by the utility model;

[0020] Figure 2 A partial structural schematic diagram of one embodiment of a radio frequency coil assembly provided by the utility model;

[0021] Figure 3 A partial structural schematic diagram of one embodiment of a radio frequency coil assembly provided by the utility model;

[0022] Figure 4 A three-dimensional diagram of one embodiment of a radio frequency coil assembly provided by the utility model;

[0023] Figure 5 A side view of one embodiment of the radio frequency coil assembly provided by the utility model;

[0024] Figure 6 A side view of one embodiment of the radio frequency coil assembly provided by the utility model;

[0025] Figure 7 It is a schematic structural diagram of one embodiment of an animal magnetic resonance system.

[0026] The symbols in the figure mean the following:

[0027] 100. RF coil assembly; 10. support frame; 11. air inlet; 12. air duct; 121. main air duct; 122. sub-air duct; 13. mounting protrusion; 20. volume coil; 21. main body; 211. vent; 212. hollow cavity; 22. end cover; 221. air outlet; 23. air inlet assembly; 231. trachea; 232. control valve; 233. adapter; 200. animal magnetic resonance imaging system; 201. magnet; 202. gradient coil. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] In order to make the above-mentioned purposes, features and advantages of the present application more obvious and easy to understand, the specific implementation methods of the present application are described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the following description, many specific details are set forth to facilitate a full understanding of the present application. However, the present application can be implemented in many other ways different from those described herein, and those skilled in the art can make similar improvements without violating the connotation of the present application, so the present application is not limited by the specific embodiments disclosed below.

[0029] It should be noted that when a mechanism is referred to as being "fixed to" or "set on" another mechanism, it may be directly on the other mechanism or there may be a central mechanism. When a mechanism is considered to be "connected to" another mechanism, it may be directly connected to the other mechanism or there may be a central mechanism at the same time. The terms "vertical", "horizontal", "upper", "lower", "left", "right" and similar expressions used in the specification of this application are for illustrative purposes only and do not represent the only implementation method.

[0030] In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Therefore, the features defined as "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of the features. In the description of this application, the meaning of "plurality" is at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

[0031] In the present application, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, a first feature being “above” or “below” a second feature may mean that the first feature is directly in contact with the second feature, or the first feature and the second feature are indirectly in contact through an intermediate medium. Moreover, a first feature being “above”, “above” or “above” a second feature may mean that the first feature is directly above or obliquely above the second feature, or simply means that the first feature is higher in level than the second feature. A first feature being “below”, “below” or “below” a second feature may mean that the first feature is directly below or obliquely below the second feature, or simply means that the first feature is lower in level than the second feature.

[0032] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used in the specification of this application have the same meaning as those commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which this application belongs. The terms used in the specification of this application are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit this application. The term "and / or" used in the specification of this application includes any and all combinations of one or more related listed items.

[0033] The utility model provides a radio frequency coil assembly 100, which is applied to magnetic resonance imaging of animals, mainly magnetic resonance imaging of small animals, such as mice. The radio frequency coil assembly 100 can remove heat from the volume coil 20 through flowing air, thereby reducing the working temperature of the volume coil 20.

[0034] See also Figure 1-Figure 3The RF coil assembly 100 includes a support frame 10 and a volume coil 20, one end of the support frame 10 is connected to the volume coil 20, the volume coil 20 has an inner wall and an outer wall, a hollow cavity 212 is formed between the inner wall and the outer wall, and the coil conductor of the volume coil 20 is located in the hollow cavity 212. In some embodiments, the inner diameter of the volume coil is 50-100 mm, the outer diameter is 100-200 mm, and the length is 250-450 mm. In some embodiments, the inner diameter of the volume coil is 80-100 mm, the outer diameter is 100-150 mm, and the length is 250-450 mm. The gap of the hollow cavity 212 is 20-50 mm. A vent 211 is provided at one end of the volume coil 20 close to the support frame 10, and an air outlet 221 is provided at the other end of the volume coil 20. The vent 211 and the air outlet 221 of the volume coil 20 are both connected to the hollow cavity 212; wherein, an air inlet 11 is provided at one end of the support frame 10 away from the volume coil 20, and an air duct 12 is constructed in the support frame 10, and the air inlet 11 is connected to the air duct 12 and is connected to the vent 211 through the air duct 12. In this way, since the air inlet 11 is opened at the end of the support frame 10 away from the volume coil 20, it will not affect the setting of the volume coil 20. The air duct 12 in the support frame 10 allows the cooling air flowing in from the air inlet 11 to flow smoothly into the vent 211 of the volume coil 20, and flow into the hollow cavity 212 through the vent 211, and finally flow out from the air outlet 221. The hollow cavity 212 is formed by the inner wall and the outer wall of the volume coil 20. Therefore, the hollow cavity 212 surrounds the circumference of the volume coil 20, and there is no need to set up an independent or separated air duct in the hollow cavity. The hollow cavity 212 itself is used as an air duct as a whole, with a simple structure, and the cooling air flows more freely and evenly therein. Therefore, it can not only take away the heat of the volume coil 20, but also have the effect of uniform cooling.

[0035] Preferably, the support frame 10 is made by 3D printing. In other embodiments, the support frame 10 may also be formed by mold injection molding.

[0036] It should be explained that the RF coil assembly 100 plays an important role in the magnetic resonance system. The RF coil assembly 100 can transmit RF pulses and receive the magnetic resonance imaging system. The volume coil 20 may include a coil circuit structure, a cylindrical shell and other accessories. The inner wall and the outer wall of the volume coil 20 define the inner diameter and the outer diameter of the cylindrical shell. The coil circuit structure includes a coil conductor, which is located in the hollow cavity 212 of the volume coil 20.

[0037] Furthermore, there are multiple vents 211 and the air outlets 221, and the multiple vents 211 are arranged at intervals along the circumference of the volume coil 20, and the multiple air outlets 221 are arranged at intervals along the circumference of the volume coil 20 at the other end of the volume coil 20. In some embodiments, the air outlets 221 are evenly spaced along the circumference of the volume coil 20 at the other end of the volume coil 20. In this way, the cooling air can enter the hollow cavity 212 along the circumferentially arranged vents 211, and flow out of the volume coil 20 from the evenly spaced air outlets 221, and flow evenly in the hollow cavity 212 to ensure its cooling effect. The cooling air flow has good consistency throughout the whole process, reduces turbulence, and flows more smoothly, so the heat dissipation capacity is also better.

[0038] For further information, see Figure 5 The vent 211 and the air outlet 221 are both set to be waist-shaped. In this way, the shapes of the vent 211 and the air outlet 221 are more adapted to the end surface shape of the volume coil 20, and the flow area of ​​the vent 211 and the air outlet 221 can be increased.

[0039] The volume coil 20 includes a main body 21 and an end cover 22. The end cover 22 is provided at one end of the main body 21 away from the support frame 10, and the air outlet 221 is provided on the end cover 22. In this way, the end cover 22 and the main body 21 can be processed separately and assembled together after the processing is completed, which reduces the difficulty of the processing technology and makes the later disassembly, assembly and maintenance more convenient.

[0040] Further, the air duct 12 opened in the support frame 10 includes at least one main air duct 121 and a plurality of sub-air ducts 122, and the plurality of sub-air ducts 122 are all connected to one end of the main air duct 121 away from the air inlet 11, and each sub-air duct 122 is correspondingly connected to a vent 211. The main air duct 121 is connected to the air inlet 11, so the cooling air can flow from the air inlet 11 into the main air duct 121, and because the sub-air ducts 122 are all connected to the main air duct 121, the cooling air in the main air duct 121 can flow into each sub-air duct 122, and then flow into the vent 211 through the sub-air duct 122, thereby entering the hollow cavity 212 and performing heat exchange with the volume coil 20. In some embodiments, the upper portion of the support frame 10 is an open structure, and the plurality of air ducts 12 (specifically the sub-air ducts 122 in this embodiment) are located at the lower portion of the support frame 10, and the corresponding vent 211 is located at the lower portion of the volume coil 20. This arrangement allows the support frame to use less material, which can ensure structural stability and reduce overall weight.

[0041] In this embodiment, the air duct 12 includes two main air ducts 121, and one end of the support frame 10 away from the volume coil 20 has two air inlets 11, and each main air duct 121 is connected to an air inlet 11 to improve cooling efficiency.

[0042] Preferably, the air duct 12 is located in the support frame 10, and the air duct 12 and the support frame 10 are integrally formed, thereby reducing the processing difficulty of opening the air duct 12 in the support frame 10 and improving production efficiency.

[0043] See also Figure 6 The end of the support frame 10 facing away from the volume coil 20 is provided with a mounting protrusion 13, and the mounting protrusion 13 is provided with the above-mentioned air inlet 11. The RF coil assembly 100 also includes an air inlet assembly 23, and the air inlet assembly 23 includes an air pipe 231, which is sleeved on the outer peripheral side of the mounting protrusion 13 and connected to the mounting protrusion 13, and the air pipe 231 is connected to the air inlet 11. The mounting protrusion 13 is conveniently sleeved and connected with the air pipe 231, so that the air pipe 231 can maintain stable communication with the air inlet 11. And the air pipe 231 can accurately deliver cooling air into the air inlet 11, reducing the waste of air overflow.

[0044] Preferably, there are multiple mounting protrusions 13, and the multiple mounting protrusions 13 are arranged along the circumference of the support frame 10, and the cross section of the mounting protrusion 13 is waist-shaped. In this way, a waist-shaped air inlet 11 can be provided on the waist-shaped mounting protrusion 13, and the waist-shaped air inlet 11, like the waist-shaped air outlet 221, can increase the circulation area of ​​the cooling air, thereby increasing the air volume flowing in the hollow cavity 212, so as to improve the cooling effect.

[0045] In this embodiment, there are two mounting protrusions 13 , and the two mounting protrusions 13 are symmetrically arranged relative to the center line of the support frame 10 , so that cooling air can flow into the volume coil 20 evenly from both sides of the support frame 10 .

[0046] For further information, see Figure 4 The air inlet assembly 23 also includes an air source, a control valve 232, and a quick connector. In some embodiments, the quick connector is disposed on the mounting protrusion 13, and the air pipe 231 is connected to the air inlet 11 through the quick connector. The quick connector makes it more convenient to connect the air pipe 231 to the air inlet 11. The quick connector is provided to facilitate the disassembly, replacement, and installation of the RF coil assembly 100, thereby meeting the scanning requirements of different animal experiments.

[0047] In some embodiments, the air source is connected to the air pipe 231, and the control valve 232 is installed in the air pipe 231 and can control the opening and closing of the air pipe 231. The air source drives the cooling air to enter the air inlet 11 through the air pipe 231, and the control valve 232 can enable the device to only control the opening and closing of the air pipe 231, for example, setting a temperature threshold, when the device detects that the temperature of the volume coil 20 reaches the threshold, the control valve 232 is controlled to open, so that the air pipe 231 is connected, and the cooling air is encouraged to enter the air inlet 11 through the air pipe 231 to cool the volume coil 20. The control valve 232 can also control the opening degree of the air pipe 231, for example, half-opening the air pipe 231 or opening it by one third.

[0048] In this embodiment, the number of air inlets 11 is smaller than the number of vents 211, and the number of vents 211 is smaller than the number of air outlets 221, thereby ensuring that the cooling air entering from the air inlets 11 can flow smoothly through the preset path without causing blockage and turbulence due to the air intake volume being smaller than the air outlet volume.

[0049] The air inlet assembly 23 also includes an adapter 233, which is connected to the air pipe 231. The adapter 233 can connect multiple air pipes 231 so that one air pipe 231 can eventually branch out and connect to multiple air inlets 11 at the same time, and the control valve 232 can realize the opening and closing of multiple bronchial pipes 231 by controlling the main air pipe 231.

[0050] The utility model further provides an animal magnetic resonance imaging system 200 , comprising a gradient coil 202 and the radio frequency coil assembly 100 as described above, wherein the radio frequency coil assembly 100 is connected to the gradient coil 202 .

[0051] See also Figure 7 The animal magnetic resonance imaging system 200 further includes a magnet 201, which is used to generate a magnetic field. The magnet 201 has a cavity at its center. A gradient coil 202 is disposed in the cavity of the magnet 201. The gradient coil 202 has a scanning cavity at its center. The RF coil assembly 100 is detachably mounted in the scanning cavity of the gradient coil 202. In some embodiments, the inner diameter of the scanning cavity is 150-300 mm.

[0052] Compared with the prior art, the utility model provides an air inlet 11 and an air duct 12 on the support frame 10 to input cooling air to the volume coil 20, thereby cooling the volume coil 20, and the volume coil 20 has a plurality of air inlets 11 and a plurality of air outlets 221 evenly spaced, so that the cooling air can evenly enter the hollow cavity 212 of the volume coil 20, fully exchange heat with the volume coil 20, and achieve a uniform cooling effect.

[0053] The technical features of the above-described embodiments may be arbitrarily combined. To make the description concise, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above-described embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this specification.

[0054] The above-mentioned embodiments only express several implementation methods of the utility model, and the description is relatively specific and detailed, but it cannot be understood as limiting the scope of the utility model patent. It should be pointed out that for ordinary technicians in this field, several modifications and improvements can be made without departing from the concept of the utility model, which all belong to the protection scope of the utility model. Therefore, the protection scope of the utility model patent shall be based on the attached claims.

Claims

1. A radio frequency coil assembly for animal magnetic resonance imaging, characterized in that: The radio frequency coil assembly comprises: A support frame (10), one end of the support frame (10) being connected to a volume coil (20); A volume coil (20), the volume coil (20) having an inner wall and an outer wall, a hollow cavity (212) formed between the inner wall and the outer wall, and a coil conductor of the volume coil (20) located in the hollow cavity (212); One end of the volume coil (20) close to the support frame (10) has a vent (211), and the other end of the volume coil (20) has an air outlet (221), and both the vent (211) and the air outlet (221) are in communication with the hollow cavity (212); The support frame (10) has an air inlet (11) at one end away from the volume coil (20), and the support frame (10) has an air duct (12), and the air inlet (11) is connected to the air duct (12) and is connected to the ventilation port (211) through the air duct (12).

2. The radio frequency coil assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that There are a plurality of ventilation openings (211) and a plurality of air outlets (221), and the plurality of ventilation openings (211) are arranged at intervals along the circumference of the volume coil (20), and the plurality of air outlets (221) are arranged at intervals along the circumference of the volume coil (20) at the other end of the volume coil (20).

3. The radio frequency coil assembly according to claim 2, characterized in that: The air duct (12) comprises at least one main air duct (121) and a plurality of sub-air ducts (122) corresponding to each main air duct, one end of each main air duct (121) is connected to one of the air inlets (11), and the other end of each main air duct (121) is connected to a corresponding plurality of sub-air ducts (122), and each of the sub-air ducts (122) is connected to a corresponding ventilation opening (211).

4. The radio frequency coil assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that The air duct (12) comprises two main air ducts (121); one end of the support frame (10) away from the volume coil (20) has two air inlets (11); each of the main air ducts (121) is connected to one of the air inlets (11).

5. The radio frequency coil assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: The air duct (12) is located inside the support frame (10), and the air duct (12) and the support frame (10) are integrally formed.

6. The radio frequency coil assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that The air inlet (11) is configured to be in a waist shape, the vent (211) is configured to be in a waist shape, and the air outlet (221) is configured to be in a waist shape.

7. The radio frequency coil assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: The number of the air inlets (11) is smaller than the number of the ventilation openings (211), and the number of the ventilation openings (211) is smaller than the number of the air outlets (221).

8. The radio frequency coil assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that The radio frequency coil assembly further comprises an air inlet assembly (23), wherein the air inlet assembly (23) comprises an air pipe (231) and a quick-connect joint, and the air pipe (231) is detachably connected to the air inlet (11) via the quick-connect joint.

9. The radio frequency coil assembly according to claim 8, characterized in that: The air inlet assembly (23) further comprises an air source and a control valve (232); the air source is in communication with the air pipe (231); the control valve (232) is installed on the air pipe (231) and is capable of controlling the on and off of the air pipe (231).

10. The radio frequency coil assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that The upper portion of the support frame (10) is an open structure, the plurality of air ducts (12) are located at the lower portion of the support frame (10), and the corresponding ventilation openings (211) are located at the lower portion of the volume coil (20).

11. An animal magnetic resonance imaging system, characterized in that: The animal magnetic resonance imaging system comprises: A magnet (201) for generating a main magnetic field, wherein the center of the magnet (201) has a cavity; A gradient coil (202) is arranged in the cavity of the magnet (201), and a scanning cavity is provided at the center of the gradient coil (202); The radio frequency coil assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 10 is detachably mounted in a scanning cavity of the gradient coil.

12. The animal magnetic resonance imaging system according to claim 11, characterized in that: The inner diameter of the scanning cavity is 150-300 mm, the inner diameter of the volume coil (20) is 50-100 mm, the outer diameter is 100-200 mm, and the length is 250-450 mm; Alternatively, the volume coil (20) has an inner diameter of 80-100 mm, an outer diameter of 100-150 mm, a length of 250-450 mm, and a gap of the hollow cavity of 20-50 mm.

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