Shoulder joint coil

Abstract

This application relates to the field of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology, and more particularly to a shoulder joint coil, comprising: a support body defining a receiving cavity for receiving a subject's shoulder and upper arm, the receiving cavity having a root corresponding to the root end of the upper arm and an opening opposite the root, defining a virtual axis extending between the root and the opening; 16 radio frequency (RF) coils, including: a first group of RF coils and a second group of RF coils arranged along the extension direction of the virtual axis, the first group of RF coils being located on the root side of the receiving cavity and including 4 first RF coils arranged around the virtual axis, the second group of RF coils being located on the opening side of the receiving cavity and including 10 second RF coils arranged around the virtual axis; and two third RF coils, one third RF coil being disposed on the anterior side of the subject between the first group of RF coils and the second group of RF coils, and the other third RF coil being disposed on the posterior side between the first group of RF coils and the second group of RF coils.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of nuclear magnetic resonance technology, and more particularly to a shoulder joint coil. Background Technology

[0002] A magnetic resonance coil unit, mainly composed of coils and a coil carrier, is one of the important components of a magnetic resonance system. It receives magnetic resonance signals from areas such as the ankle, allowing the magnetic resonance system to process these signals and reconstruct a magnetic resonance image corresponding to the examined area.

[0003] A magnetic resonance coil unit, mainly composed of coils and a coil carrier, is one of the important components of a magnetic resonance system. It receives magnetic resonance signals from areas such as the ankle, allowing the magnetic resonance system to process these signals and reconstruct a magnetic resonance image corresponding to the examined area.

[0004] Traditional techniques for using shoulder joint MRI scans have drawbacks, such as the radiofrequency coils not being arranged in a reasonable and compact manner. Summary of the Invention

[0005] To address at least one of the aforementioned technical problems, this application provides a shoulder joint coil.

[0006] The shoulder joint coil proposed in this application includes:

[0007] A support body defines a receiving cavity for receiving the shoulder and upper arm of a subject, the receiving cavity having a root corresponding to the root end of the upper arm and an opening opposite the root, and defining a virtual axis extending between the root and the opening.

[0008] Sixteen radio frequency coils, supported by the support body, and comprising:

[0009] A first group of radio frequency coils and a second group of radio frequency coils are arranged along the extension direction of the virtual axis, wherein the first group of radio frequency coils is located on the root side of the receiving cavity and includes four first radio frequency coils arranged around the virtual axis, and the second group of radio frequency coils is located on the opening side of the receiving cavity and includes ten second radio frequency coils arranged around the virtual axis.

[0010] Two third radio frequency coils, one of which is disposed in front of the subject between the first group of radio frequency coils and the second group of radio frequency coils, and the other of which is disposed behind the subject between the first group of radio frequency coils and the second group of radio frequency coils.

[0011] In some possible implementations, any two adjacent first RF coils partially overlap, and any two adjacent second RF coils partially overlap.

[0012] In some possible implementations, two first radio frequency coils in the first group of radio frequency coils and four second radio frequency coils in the second group of radio frequency coils partially overlap with one of the third radio frequency coils, and another two first radio frequency coils in the first group of radio frequency coils and another four second radio frequency coils in the second group of radio frequency coils partially overlap with another third radio frequency coil.

[0013] In some possible implementations, the first RF coil has the same size as the second RF coil, the two third RF coils have the same size, and the size of the third RF coil is larger than that of the first RF coil and the second RF coil.

[0014] In some possible implementations, the four first radio frequency coils are arranged in a closed first loop around the entire circumference of the virtual axis.

[0015] In some possible implementations, the cable for transmitting the magnetic resonance signal is led out through the inner hole region of the first ring.

[0016] In some possible implementations, the 10 second radio frequency coils are arranged in a closed second ring around the entire circumference of the virtual axis.

[0017] In some possible implementations, the 10 second radio frequency coils are arranged adjacent to the edge of the opening.

[0018] In some possible implementations, the size of the receiving cavity is formed to gradually increase from the root to the opening.

[0019] In some possible implementations, the support is a deformable flexible support, and each of the plurality of radio frequency coils is configured to deform in accordance with the deformation of the flexible support.

[0020] According to the shoulder joint coil provided in this application, the number of its radio frequency coils is configured to be 16 and arranged in a specific manner, which helps to make full and reasonable use of the installation space of the coil support to obtain high-quality magnetic resonance images. Attached Figure Description

[0021] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, the accompanying drawings of the embodiments will be briefly described below. Obviously, the drawings described below only relate to some embodiments of this application, and are not intended to limit this application.

[0022] Figure 1This is a schematic diagram of the shoulder joint coil provided in the embodiment of this application in its unfolded state.

[0023] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the shoulder joint coil in working mode and applied to the subject's left shoulder.

[0024] Figure 3 yes Figure 2 Side view.

[0025] Figure 4 yes Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the shoulder joint coil in working mode and applied to the right shoulder of the examinee.

[0026] Figure 5 yes Figure 4 Side view.

[0027] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of a shoulder joint coil provided in another embodiment of this application.

[0028] Figure 7 Observing from another perspective Figure 6 A diagram showing the time.

[0029] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures:

[0030] 100-Shoulder joint coil;

[0031] VF - Virtual plane, AX - Virtual axis;

[0032] 1- Flexible support structure;

[0033] 1a - First flexible part, 1b - Second flexible part, 1c - Third flexible part, 1d - Fourth flexible part, 1e - First end side part, 1f - Second end side part, 1g - Middle part, 1h - Outgoing part, 1i - Opening;

[0034] 2, 2d, 2e-RF coils;

[0035] Te1 - First group of RF coils, Te2 - Second group of RF coils;

[0036] 2A - First RF coil, 2B - Second RF coil, 2C - Third RF coil;

[0037] 3-Connectors;

[0038] 4-Receiving cavity, 4a-Root, 4b-Opening. Detailed Implementation

[0039] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this application clearer, the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some, not all, of the embodiments of this application. Based on the described embodiments of this application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this application. It is understood that, without conflict, some technical means of the various embodiments described herein can be substituted for or combined with each other.

[0040] In the description of this application, the terms "first," "second," etc., are used only to distinguish the described objects and have no sequential or technical meaning. Therefore, objects specified with "first," "second," etc., may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of those objects, and, for example, the term "first element" itself does not imply the existence of a "second element," nor does the term "second element" itself imply the existence of a "first element." Furthermore, words such as "a" or "one" do not indicate a quantity limitation, but rather indicate the presence of at least one, while "multiple" indicates not less than two.

[0041] Figure 1 A shoulder joint coil 100 according to an embodiment of this application is shown, and Figures 2 to 4 A schematic diagram of the shoulder joint coil 100 in use is shown. The shoulder joint coil 100 includes a flexible support 1 and a plurality of radio frequency coils 2 supported by the flexible support 1, the plurality of radio frequency coils 2 being configured to deform in accordance with the deformation of the flexible support 1.

[0042] In this embodiment, the flexible support 1 deforms to have an unfolded form and a working form, and the shoulder joint coil 100 is a receiving coil. In the working form, the shape of the flexible support 1 corresponds to the shape of the subject's shoulder and upper arm, defining a receiving cavity 4 for receiving the subject's shoulder (e.g., left or right shoulder) and upper arm. Consequently, the plurality of radio frequency coils 2 following the flexible support 1 also deform to correspond to the shape of the subject's shoulder and upper arm, so as to receive magnetic resonance signals from the subject's shoulder joint around the shoulder and upper arm. In other embodiments, the shoulder joint coil 100 is a transmitting coil, which uses the radio frequency signals emitted by the plurality of radio frequency coils 2 around the shoulder and upper arm to cause the hydrogen nuclei of the shoulder joint to generate magnetic resonance signals.

[0043] Specifically, in its working configuration, the flexible support 1 includes a first flexible portion 1a covering the subject's shoulder from the front, a second flexible portion 1b covering the subject's shoulder from the back, a third flexible portion 1c covering the subject's shoulder from the upper side, and a fourth flexible portion 1d covering the subject's upper arm from the left and right sides. The first flexible portion 1a, second flexible portion 1b, third flexible portion 1c, and fourth flexible portion 1d define the aforementioned approximately conical receiving cavity 4. Multiple radio frequency coils 2 are supported by the first flexible portion 1a, second flexible portion 1b, third flexible portion 1c, and fourth flexible portion 1d; that is, each of the first flexible portion 1a, second flexible portion 1b, third flexible portion 1c, and fourth flexible portion 1d supports a portion of the multiple radio frequency coils 2.

[0044] Understandably, since the first flexible part 1a, the second flexible part 1b, the third flexible part 1c and the fourth flexible part 1d can all produce flexible deformation, and they respectively cover the front, back and upper sides of the shoulder and the outer sides of the upper arm in the left and right directions, the radio frequency coil 2 supported by these four flexible parts can approach the subject's shoulder joint well in multiple directions, which helps to obtain high-quality magnetic resonance images.

[0045] The receiving cavity 4 has a root portion 4a corresponding to the root end of the upper arm and an opening 4b opposite to the root portion 4a, wherein the opening 4b faces the subject's body, and the receiving cavity 4 defines a virtual axis AX extending between the root portion 4a and the opening 4b. More specifically, when the shoulder joint coil 100 is used to perform an MRI scan of the subject's left shoulder joint, the opening 4b of the receiving cavity 4 faces the subject's body to the lower right, and the virtual axis AX extends to the lower right; when the shoulder joint coil 100 is used to perform an MRI scan of the subject's right shoulder joint, the opening 4b of the receiving cavity 4 faces the subject's body to the lower left, and the virtual axis AX extends to the lower left. It is understood that the root end of the upper arm corresponds to the connection between the subject's upper arm and shoulder.

[0046] The size of the receiving cavity 4 is formed to gradually increase from the root 4a to the opening 4b, so as to adapt to the shape of the part of the human body to be examined.

[0047] In some embodiments, the flexible support 1 is a freely deformable soft blanket, and the radio frequency coil 2 is stitched and attached to the interior of the soft blanket—that is, between the two main surfaces of the soft blanket.

[0048] It should be understood that the term "subject's upper side" in this article refers to the direction relative to the subject's head and feet. Therefore, "subject's upper side" can also be referred to as the top of the subject's head, and correspondingly, "subject's upper side" corresponds to the bottom of the subject's feet. Thus, when the subject uses the shoulder coil 100 in a supine position, from the perspective of the radiologist operating the MRI equipment, "subject's upper side" is actually a horizontal side.

[0049] In the aforementioned unfolded form, the flexible support 1 has an opening 1i extending to the edge of the flexible support 1, a first end portion 1e and a second end portion 1f separated by the opening 1i and facing each other in the width direction of the opening 1i (corresponding to the front-back direction of the examinee), and a middle portion 1g facing the opening 1i in the depth direction of the opening 1i. The flexible support 1 is configured to deform into the aforementioned working form by having the middle portion 1g cover the upper arm from the outside in the left-right direction of the examinee, and having both the first end portion 1e and the second end portion cover the shoulder from the upper side of the examinee. In the working state, the middle portion 1g defines a third flexible portion 1c, and the first end portion 1e and the second end portion 1f define a fourth flexible portion 1d. Thus, the shoulder joint coil 100 assembly deforms from the unfolded form to the working form based on the body (upper arm and shoulder) contour of the examinee, making it convenient to use.

[0050] In some embodiments, in the working configuration, the first end portion 1e and the second end portion 1f (in the vertical direction or head-to-toe direction of the subject) at least partially overlap, and based on this at least partial overlap of the first end portion 1e and the second end portion 1f, the radio frequency coils 2d and 2e of the plurality of radio frequency coils 2 partially overlap to decouple, wherein the radio frequency coil 2d is a radio frequency coil 2 supported by the first end portion 1e, and the radio frequency coil 2e is a radio frequency coil 2 supported by the second end portion 1f. More specifically, two such radio frequency coils 2d and 2e are respectively provided.

[0051] It also includes a connector 3, which is configured to connect the first end portion 1e to the second end portion 1f when the flexible support 1 is in the working state, and to adjust the relative position of the connection between the first end portion 1e and the second end portion 1f in the front-back direction of the examinee. In this way, the relative position of the connection between the first end portion 1e and the second end portion 1f can be adjusted by using the connector 3 to adjust the tightness of the shoulder joint coil 100 relative to the examinee in the working state, and the shoulder joint coil 100 can also be adapted to examinees of different body types.

[0052] In this embodiment, the connector 3 is a Velcro component, which includes an adhesive portion and a bonded portion, wherein the adhesive portion is disposed on the first end side portion 1e, and the bonded portion is disposed on the second end side portion 1f. By bonding the adhesive portion to the bonded portion, the first end side portion 1e is connected to the second end side portion 1f, and the relative position of the adhesive portion and the bonded portion in the front-back direction of the subject is adjustable.

[0053] The flexible support 1 also has a lead-out portion 1h extending from the opening 1i, through which a cable electrically connected to the radio frequency coil 2 (not shown in the figure) is led out to transmit the magnetic resonance signal to an external device, such as the receiver of a magnetic resonance system.

[0054] In the unfolded form, the aforementioned lead portion 1h fills (for example, completely fills) the opening 1i, and the flexible support 1 is planar in shape. In this way, the flexible support 1 can be easily manufactured.

[0055] Furthermore, in its unfolded form, the flexible support 1 is symmetrical about a virtual plane VF, and the multiple radio frequency coils 2 are also symmetrical about this virtual plane VF, which is a plane passing through the opening 1i and the middle portion 1g. This design allows the flexible support 1 to be used for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of both the left and right shoulder joints of the same patient. When performing MRI on the left and right shoulder joints of the same patient, the shoulder joint coils 100 exhibit essentially consistent imaging characteristics, such as… Figures 2 to 5 .

[0056] In other embodiments, the shoulder joint coil 100 may not have the aforementioned deployed state, but only has Figures 2 to 5 The shape shown has a receiving cavity 4. For example, the first end portion 1e and the second end portion 1f can be stitched together and cannot be separated from each other.

[0057] And to facilitate understanding of the description in the previous paragraph, Figure 6 and Figure 7 A shoulder joint coil 100 without a similar unfolded state is shown.

[0058] Although Figures 1 to 5 The illustrated embodiments and Figures 6 to 7 The other embodiment shown differs in whether the product can be unfolded; however, both have essentially the same structure in use. For details, please refer to... Figures 2 to 7 and combined Figure 1 :

[0059] Both have 16 radio frequency coils 2. These 16 radio frequency coils 2 include a first group of radio frequency coils Te1 and a second group of radio frequency coils Te2 arranged in the extension direction of the aforementioned virtual axis AX, as well as two third radio frequency coils 2C. The first group of radio frequency coils Te1 is located on the root 4a side of the receiving cavity 4 and includes four first radio frequency coils 2A around the virtual axis AX. The second group of radio frequency coils Te2 is located on the opening 4b side of the receiving cavity 4 and includes ten second radio frequency coils 2B around the virtual axis AX. One third radio frequency coil 2C is arranged between the first group of radio frequency coils Te1 and the second group of radio frequency coils Te2 on the front side of the subject, and the other third radio frequency coil 2C is arranged between the first group of radio frequency coils Te1 and the second group of radio frequency coils Te2 on the rear side of the subject.

[0060] When the shoulder joint coil 100 is configured with 16 radio frequency coils 2 arranged in the manner described above, it helps to fully and rationally utilize the installation space of the coil support, thereby easily obtaining high-quality magnetic resonance images. In the embodiments of this application, the aforementioned coil support is a flexible support 1. Obviously, those skilled in the art will also understand that even when the coil support is not a flexible support 1 (e.g., a rigid support), arranging 16 radio frequency coils 2 in the manner described above also fully and rationally utilizes the installation space of the coil support and helps to obtain high-quality magnetic resonance images.

[0061] Furthermore, the four first RF coils 2A of the first group of RF coils Te1 are arranged in a closed first loop around the entire circumference of the virtual axis AX, with any two adjacent first RF coils 2A partially overlapping each other for decoupling. The ten second RF coils 2B of the second group of RF coils Te2 are arranged in a closed second loop around the entire circumference of the virtual axis AX, which is larger than the first loop, with any two adjacent second RF coils 2B partially overlapping each other for decoupling. In addition, each first RF coil 2A and each second RF coil 2B has the same size, and the two third RF coils 2C have the same size, with the third RF coil 2C being slightly larger than the first RF coils 2A and the second RF coils 2B. Furthermore, two of the first RF coils 2A in the first group of RF coils Te1 and four of the second RF coils 2B in the second group of RF coils Te2 partially overlap with one of the third RF coils 2C for decoupling, and the other two first RF coils 2A in the first group of RF coils Te1 and the other four second RF coils 2B in the second group of RF coils Te2 partially overlap with the other third RF coil 2C for decoupling.

[0062] The four first radio frequency coils 2A of the first group of radio frequency coils Te1 are arranged near the root 4a of the receiving cavity 4, and the cable for transmitting magnetic resonance signals (corresponding to the outgoing part 1h) is led out from the inner hole area of ​​the aforementioned closed first ring defined by these four first radio frequency coils 2A, thereby making the design and manufacture of the shoulder joint coil easier. The ten second radio frequency coils 2B of the second group of radio frequency coils Te2 are arranged near the edge of the opening 4b of the receiving cavity 4.

Claims

1. A shoulder joint coil, characterized in that, include: A support body defines a receiving cavity for receiving the shoulder and upper arm of a subject, the receiving cavity having a root corresponding to the root end of the upper arm and an opening opposite the root, and defining a virtual axis extending between the root and the opening; Sixteen radio frequency coils, supported by the support body, and comprising: A first group of radio frequency coils and a second group of radio frequency coils are arranged along the extension direction of the virtual axis, wherein the first group of radio frequency coils is located on the root side of the receiving cavity and includes four first radio frequency coils arranged around the virtual axis, and the second group of radio frequency coils is located on the opening side of the receiving cavity and includes ten second radio frequency coils arranged around the virtual axis. Two third radio frequency coils, one of which is disposed in front of the subject between the first group of radio frequency coils and the second group of radio frequency coils, and the other of which is disposed behind the subject between the first group of radio frequency coils and the second group of radio frequency coils.

2. The shoulder joint coil according to claim 1, characterized in that, Any two adjacent first RF coils partially overlap, and any two adjacent second RF coils partially overlap.

3. The shoulder joint coil according to claim 1, characterized in that, Two of the first RF coils in the first group of RF coils and four of the second RF coils in the second group of RF coils partially overlap with one of the third RF coils, and the other two of the first RF coils in the first group of RF coils and the other four of the second RF coils in the second group of RF coils partially overlap with another third RF coil.

4. The shoulder joint coil according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first RF coil and the second RF coil have the same size, the two third RF coils have the same size, and the size of the third RF coil is larger than that of the first RF coil and the second RF coil.

5. The shoulder joint coil according to claim 1, characterized in that, The four first radio frequency coils are arranged in a closed first ring around the entire circumference of the virtual axis.

6. The shoulder joint coil according to claim 5, characterized in that, The cable used to transmit magnetic resonance signals is led out through the inner hole region of the first ring.

7. The shoulder joint coil according to claim 1, characterized in that, The 10 second radio frequency coils are arranged in a closed second ring around the entire circumference of the virtual axis.

8. The shoulder joint coil according to claim 1, characterized in that, The 10 second radio frequency coils are arranged adjacent to the edge of the opening.

9. The shoulder joint coil according to claim 1, characterized in that, The size of the receiving cavity is formed to gradually increase from the root to the opening.

10. The shoulder joint coil according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that, The support is a deformable flexible support, and each of the plurality of radio frequency coils is configured to deform in accordance with the deformation of the flexible support.

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