Spectrometer capable of flexibly configuring any number of radio frequency acquisition channels

Abstract

The utility model relates to the technical field of magnetic resonance imaging, in particular to a spectrometer capable of flexibly configuring any number of radio frequency acquisition channels. The utility model relates to a spectrometer capable of flexibly configuring any number of radio frequency acquisition channels, which is characterized in that a clock synchronization signal module and a data exchange module are arranged in a spectrometer main control unit, a computer is interconnected with a network switch, and the spectrometer main control unit is interconnected with the network switch; the data exchange module in the spectrometer main control unit is interconnected with the radio frequency acquisition unit, and the radio frequency acquisition unit is interconnected with the network switch; and the output end of the clock synchronization signal module in the spectrometer main control unit is connected with the input end of the radio frequency acquisition unit. Compared with the prior art, the spectrometer has the advantages that the number and configuration of the radio frequency acquisition units can be conveniently changed, and the number of radio frequency acquisition channels of the spectrometer can be flexibly changed according to actual requirements.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of magnetic resonance imaging, in particular to a spectrometer which can be flexibly configured with any number of radio frequency acquisition channels. Background Art

[0002] The spectrometer is the control core of the MRI system, and it needs to implement functions such as pulse sequence timing control, RF waveform output, gradient waveform output, and RF signal acquisition. It is the core component of the MRI system.

[0003] With the advancement of RF coil technology, especially panoramic integrated coil technology, the number of RF receive coil channels in MRI systems has gradually increased, from the original single and dual channels to 4, 8, 16, and 32 channels. Panoramic integrated systems can even support 48 channels and above. This has placed greater demands on the RF receive channels of spectrometers. With technological advancements, the number of RF receive channels in spectrometers has also gradually increased from the initial single and dual channels to the current 48 channels and above.

[0004] In practice, due to the architecture of common spectrometers, the spectrometer's main control unit must aggregate and process all RF-collected data before sending it to a computer. Therefore, the spectrometer's main control unit must clearly define the spectrometer's total number of RF acquisition channels. As a result, the number of channels is fixed at the time of production, making it impossible to flexibly increase or decrease the number of channels. This results in the need to manufacture spectrometers with varying numbers of channels for specific application scenarios.

[0005] On the other hand, all RF data collected by current common spectrometers must be aggregated into the spectrometer's main control unit before being transmitted to a computer. This results in an increase in internal spectrometer data transmission volume as the number of acquisition channels increases, which consumes a significant amount of spectrometer resources and increases development difficulty. Summary of the Invention

[0006] In order to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art, the utility model provides a spectrometer that can be flexibly configured with any number of radio frequency acquisition channels, solves the problem that the number of radio frequency acquisition channels of the spectrometer is inconvenient to modify after production is completed, and changes the radio frequency acquisition data transmission method, thereby saving the hardware system resource consumption of the spectrometer.

[0007] To achieve the above objectives, a spectrometer is designed that can flexibly configure any number of RF acquisition channels. The spectrometer includes a computer, a spectrometer main control unit, a RF acquisition unit, and a network switch. A clock synchronization signal module and a data exchange module are provided inside the spectrometer main control unit. The spectrometer is characterized in that: the computer is interconnected with the network switch, the spectrometer main control unit is interconnected with the network switch, the data exchange module in the spectrometer main control unit is interconnected with the RF acquisition unit, and the RF acquisition unit is interconnected with the network switch; the output end of the clock synchronization signal module in the spectrometer main control unit is connected to the input end of the RF acquisition unit.

[0008] There is at least one radio frequency acquisition unit, and the radio frequency acquisition unit is a radio frequency acquisition unit with 4 channels, 8 channels, 16 channels, or 32 channels.

[0009] The clock synchronization signal module and the data exchange module in the spectrometer main control unit are provided with a plurality of output interfaces.

[0010] The clock synchronization signal module and the data exchange module are provided with at least two output interfaces.

[0011] The computer is equipped with scanning software.

[0012] The clock synchronization signal module is connected to the clock synchronization signal cascade expansion module, and the clock synchronization signal cascade expansion module includes a gate signal input end, a clock signal input end, and a signal output end. The gate signal input end is connected to several signal output ends through a logic buffer, and the clock signal input end is connected to several signal output ends through a clock distribution chip; the gate signal input end, clock signal input end, and signal output end adopt a radio frequency coaxial interface.

[0013] The data exchange module is connected to the data interactive cascade expansion module, and the data interactive cascade expansion module includes a data signal input end, an FPGA, and a data signal output end. The data signal input end is connected to several data signal output ends through the FPGA; the data signal input end and the data signal output end adopt a high-speed data interface.

[0014] Compared with the existing technology, the present invention provides a spectrometer that can be flexibly configured with any number of radio frequency acquisition channels. The radio frequency acquisition data of the spectrometer does not need to pass through the spectrometer main control unit, but is directly transmitted to the computer through the network, saving the resources of the spectrometer main control unit; at the same time, the spectrometer proposed by the present invention can conveniently change the number and configuration of the radio frequency acquisition units, and thus flexibly change the number of radio frequency acquisition channels of the spectrometer according to actual needs. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] Figure 1 This is a connection diagram of the utility model.

[0016] Figure 2 This is a flow chart of the processing of internal signals of the radio frequency acquisition unit in the present invention.

[0017] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the clock synchronization signal cascade expansion module in the present utility model.

[0018] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the data interactive cascade expansion module in the present utility model. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0020] like Figure 1 As shown, a clock synchronization signal module and a data exchange module are provided inside the spectrometer main control unit, the computer is interconnected with the network switch, the spectrometer main control unit is interconnected with the network switch, the data exchange module in the spectrometer main control unit is interconnected with the radio frequency acquisition unit, and the radio frequency acquisition unit is interconnected with the network switch; the output end of the clock synchronization signal module in the spectrometer main control unit is connected to the input end of the radio frequency acquisition unit.

[0021] There is at least one radio frequency acquisition unit, and the radio frequency acquisition unit is a radio frequency acquisition unit of 4 channels, 8 channels, 16 channels, and 32 channels.

[0022] The clock synchronization signal module and data exchange module in the spectrometer main control unit are provided with several output interfaces.

[0023] The clock synchronization signal module and the data exchange module are provided with at least two output interfaces.

[0024] The computer has scanning software installed.

[0025] like Figure 3 As shown, the clock synchronization signal module is connected to the clock synchronization signal cascade expansion module, and the clock synchronization signal cascade expansion module includes a gate signal input terminal, a clock signal input terminal, and a signal output terminal. The gate signal input terminal is connected to several signal output terminals through a logic buffer, and the clock signal input terminal is connected to several signal output terminals through a clock distribution chip; the gate signal input terminal, clock signal input terminal, and signal output terminal adopt a radio frequency coaxial interface.

[0026] like Figure 4 As shown, the data exchange module is connected to the data interactive cascade expansion module, and the data interactive cascade expansion module includes a data signal input terminal, an FPGA, and a data signal output terminal. The data signal input terminal is connected to several data signal output terminals through the FPGA; the data signal input terminal and the data signal output terminal adopt a high-speed data interface.

[0027] Embodiments of the present utility model:

[0028] Figure 1 As shown, the spectrometer of the present invention consists of a spectrometer main control unit P1 and three radio frequency acquisition units R1, R2, and R3. The three radio frequency acquisition units have 16, 8, and 8 radio frequency acquisition channels, respectively, for a total of 32 channels. The spectrometer main control unit P1, the three radio frequency acquisition units R1, R2, and R3, and a computer C are all connected to a network switch S, forming a local area network (LAN), ensuring that all of these devices can communicate with each other.

[0029] The clock synchronization signal module P11 and the data interaction module P12 of the spectrometer main control unit are equipped with multiple output interfaces, each with 4 output interfaces. After the spectrometer main control unit and the RF acquisition unit are started, the 4 output interfaces of the clock synchronization signal module P11 all output exactly the same clock signal, outputting a stable 125MHz clock synchronization signal. After receiving the clock synchronization signal, the 3 RF acquisition units (R1, R2, R3) use it as the reference frequency to perform digital demodulation on the collected RF signal. The 4 output interfaces of the data interaction module P12 are respectively assigned 4 different IPs, namely: 192.168.0.11, 192.168.0.12, 192.168.0.13 and 192.168.0.14. If the RF acquisition unit is connected to the above interface, the RF acquisition unit will be assigned the above IP. If Figure 1 As shown in the figure, the three RF acquisition modules R1, R2, and R3 are connected to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd interfaces of the clock synchronization signal module and data exchange module of the spectrometer main control unit, respectively. Therefore, all three RF acquisition modules receive a 125MHz clock synchronization signal. R1 is assigned an IP address of 192.168.0.11, R2 is assigned an IP address of 192.168.0.12, and R3 is assigned an IP address of 192.168.0.13. The spectrometer's own IP address is different from these assigned IP addresses and is set to 192.168.0.1.

[0030] The scanning software of computer C establishes connections with the spectrometer main control unit P1 and three RF acquisition units (R1, R2, and R3) according to the configured IP. Computer C also establishes a Socket connection with the above devices based on the TCP / IP protocol to exchange data with the above devices through the network.

[0031] The spectrometer's specific workflow is as follows: At the start of a scan, the scanning software on computer C compiles the sequence data into a format recognizable by the spectrometer and sends it via the network to the spectrometer's main control unit, P1. P1 receives the sequence data from C, parses the RF acquisition parameters, and transmits them to three RF acquisition units (R1, R2, and R3) via the data exchange module, P12. R1, R2, and R3 configure their respective RF acquisition channels based on the received parameters, completing RF acquisition during the sequence scan. Each time RF data acquisition is completed, the scanning software on computer C directly retrieves the corresponding RF data from the RF acquisition units (R1, R2, and R3) through the established socket connection. Data acquisition is accomplished over the network, without passing through the spectrometer's main control unit, P1.

[0032] like Figure 2 Figure 2 shows the signal processing flow within the spectrometer's RF acquisition unit. After receiving the RF acquisition unit's RF acquisition interface, the RF signal is first amplified by an adjustable gain amplifier, then digitally demodulated to produce a demodulated digital signal. This signal is then digitally filtered to produce the final data. This data is temporarily stored in the acquisition unit and ultimately transmitted to a computer via a network interface. The signal processing flow within the spectrometer's RF acquisition unit must be based on a clock synchronization signal to ensure coherence across all RF acquisition units during digital demodulation. Therefore, the spectrometer's RF acquisition unit must be connected to the clock synchronization signal module of the spectrometer's main control unit before data acquisition. All signal processing processes require data acquisition parameters, including the specific adjustable gain, the demodulation frequency for digital demodulation, the bandwidth of the digital filter, and the number of points to be collected and stored. Furthermore, data transmission from the RF acquisition unit to the computer requires a specific IP address. All of this information comes from the data exchange module of the spectrometer's main control unit, so the RF acquisition unit must be connected to the data exchange module before data acquisition.

[0033] like Figure 3As shown in the figure, the clock synchronization signal cascade expansion module uses RF coaxial interfaces (SMA connectors) for its input terminals J11 and J21 and output terminals J12, J13, J14, J22, J23, and J24. The input signals include clock and gate signals. The gate signal enters through J11 and passes through logic buffers B1, B2, B3, and B4, converting them into three identical signals output to J12, J13, and J14. The logic buffers use SN74LVC series chips. The clock signal enters through J21 and passes through clock distribution chip L, converting them into three identical signals output to J22, J23, and J24. The clock distribution chip uses the LMK00804B chip. This design converts a single input signal consisting of clock and gate signals into three identical output signals. Therefore, when the output interface of the clock synchronization signal module of the spectrometer main control unit is insufficient, the clock synchronization signal cascade expansion module is connected to the clock synchronization signal module, thus expanding the output interface from one group to three groups to meet the usage requirements. If necessary, the clock synchronization signal cascade expansion module can also be redesigned to have one group of inputs and n groups of outputs, where n can be any natural number. On the other hand, the clock synchronization signal cascade expansion modules can also be used in cascade mode, that is, the output of clock synchronization signal cascade expansion module a can also serve as the input of module b, thus further expanding the number of interfaces.

[0034] like Figure 4The figure shows the data exchange cascade expansion module. Both the input interface S11 and the output interfaces S12 and S13 utilize high-speed data interfaces, facilitating high-speed data transmission, using SFP+ connectors. Input interface S11 connects to the data exchange module of the spectrometer main control unit, while the output interfaces connect to the RF acquisition unit. The core of the data exchange cascade expansion module is the FPGA, responsible for data transmission and interaction. RF acquisition data is received by the input interface and output from the data exchange module of the spectrometer main control unit. After receiving this data, the FPGA outputs identical data to output interfaces S12 and S13, maintaining the data integrity. When an IP request is initiated, the FPGA checks the connection status of output interfaces S12 and S13. For example, if both output interfaces are connected to the RF acquisition unit, the FPGA requests two IP addresses from the data exchange module of the spectrometer main control unit via input interface S11. Upon receiving the requests, the data exchange module of the spectrometer main control unit allocates two IP addresses to the data exchange cascade expansion module. Upon receiving the assigned IP addresses, the FPGA sends the two IP address information to the two connected RF acquisition units, enabling them to use different IP addresses. Therefore, when the data interaction module of the spectrometer main control unit has insufficient output interfaces, connecting the data interaction cascade expansion module to the data interaction module expands the output interface from one to two to meet usage requirements. If necessary, the clock synchronization signal cascade expansion module can also be redesigned to have one input and n outputs, where n can be any natural number, the upper limit of which depends on the performance of the selected FPGA. Alternatively, data interaction cascade expansion modules can be cascaded, so that the output of module a can also serve as the input of module b, further expanding the number of interfaces.

[0035] The above situation is an application scenario of 32 RF acquisition channels. Without changing the hardware of each unit of the spectrometer, the method of changing the acquisition channels of the spectrometer to 24 channels or 40 channels is very flexible.

[0036] The method of changing from the above 32-channel case to 24-channel case only requires changing Figure 1 Simply remove RF acquisition unit R2 or R3 from the system. Disconnect R3 from P11, P12, and S to remove R3 from the system. The entire spectrometer now consists of the spectrometer main control unit P1 and RF acquisition units R1 and R2. R1 and R2 have 16 and 8 RF acquisition channels, respectively, for a total of 24 channels. The spectrometer workflow is identical to the 32-channel setup described above. This completes the conversion from 32 channels to 24 channels.

[0037] Similarly, to change from 32 channels to 40 channels, simply connect an 8-channel RF acquisition unit to the remaining port on P11 or P12, or replace one of R2 or R3 with a 16-channel RF acquisition unit. Replace R2 with a 16-channel RF acquisition unit instead of an 8-channel one. The spectrometer workflow remains the same as for the 32-channel RF acquisition unit described above. This completes the process of changing the spectrometer from 32 channels to 40 channels.

[0038] When adding RF acquisition units, if the output interfaces of the spectrometer main control unit's clock synchronization signal module and data exchange module are insufficient, the clock synchronization signal cascade expansion module and the data exchange cascade expansion module can be connected to the spectrometer main control unit's clock synchronization signal module and data exchange module. This will expand the number of the aforementioned interfaces and meet the usage requirements.

Claims

1. A spectrometer capable of flexibly configuring any number of radio frequency acquisition channels, comprising a computer, a spectrometer main control unit, a radio frequency acquisition unit, and a network switch, wherein the spectrometer main control unit is internally provided with a clock synchronization signal module and a data exchange module, and characterized in that: The computer is interconnected with the network switch, the spectrometer main control unit is interconnected with the network switch, the data exchange module in the spectrometer main control unit is interconnected with the radio frequency acquisition unit, and the radio frequency acquisition unit is interconnected with the network switch; the output end of the clock synchronization signal module in the spectrometer main control unit is connected to the input end of the radio frequency acquisition unit.

2. A spectrometer capable of flexibly configuring any number of radio frequency acquisition channels according to claim 1, characterized in that: There is at least one radio frequency acquisition unit, and the radio frequency acquisition unit is a radio frequency acquisition unit with 4 channels, 8 channels, 16 channels, or 32 channels.

3. The spectrometer capable of flexibly configuring any number of radio frequency acquisition channels according to claim 1, characterized in that: The clock synchronization signal module and the data exchange module in the spectrometer main control unit are provided with a plurality of output interfaces.

4. The spectrometer capable of flexibly configuring any number of radio frequency acquisition channels according to claim 3, characterized in that: The clock synchronization signal module and the data exchange module are provided with at least two output interfaces.

5. The spectrometer capable of flexibly configuring any number of radio frequency acquisition channels according to claim 1, characterized in that: The computer is equipped with scanning software.

6. The spectrometer capable of flexibly configuring any number of radio frequency acquisition channels according to claim 1, characterized in that: The clock synchronization signal module is connected to the clock synchronization signal cascade expansion module, and the clock synchronization signal cascade expansion module includes a gate signal input end, a clock signal input end, and a signal output end. The gate signal input end is connected to several signal output ends through a logic buffer, and the clock signal input end is connected to several signal output ends through a clock distribution chip; the gate signal input end, clock signal input end, and signal output end adopt a radio frequency coaxial interface.

7. The spectrometer capable of flexibly configuring any number of radio frequency acquisition channels according to claim 1, characterized in that: The data exchange module is connected to the data interactive cascade expansion module, and the data interactive cascade expansion module includes a data signal input end, an FPGA, and a data signal output end. The data signal input end is connected to several data signal output ends through the FPGA; the data signal input end and the data signal output end adopt a high-speed data interface.

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