Detachable Receiver Block for RF Coils
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Solution Overview
Problem
Local RF coils in magnetic resonance medical imaging face challenges with costly and failure-prone digitizer circuits, complex and bulky power cables, and inadequate power management, which hinder healthcare practitioner efficiency and patient safety.
Innovation Solution
A detachable receiver block system that allows sharing of components across multiple local RF coils, reduces cable usage, and provides adaptable power sources without the need for remanufacturing or replacing coils, featuring wireless communication and interchangeable power supplies with visual indicators for battery status.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a shielded power cable is used to power the local RF coil, then patient and practitioner safety is improved, but the cable bulk and placement difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the power delivery function into two separate components: a power transfer cable with galvanic isolation and a separate grounding cable. This segmentation allows the power cable to be thinner and more flexible while maintaining safety through the isolation barrier, reducing bulk and improving ease of placement.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a galvanic isolator as an intermediary component between the power source and the RF coil. This isolator acts as a mediator that provides electrical safety without requiring a bulky shielded cable, thereby improving both safety and ease of operation.
2Measurement precision
If a digitizer circuit is housed in the local coil for good signal to noise ratio, then measurement precision is improved, but the cost and failure risk increase
Solution Approach 1:
The digitizer circuit is extracted from the local RF coil housing and placed in a separate receiver unit. This extraction maintains the high signal-to-noise ratio by keeping the digitizer close to the coil elements while removing the failure-prone component from the patient-contacting coil, thereby improving reliability without sacrificing measurement precision.
3Device complexity
If a battery is used to power the local RF coil, then cable complexity is reduced, but regulatory approval requirements and usage frustration increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system transitions from a static battery-only or cable-only power solution to a dynamic hybrid system that can adapt between battery power and AC power with galvanic isolation. This dynamic flexibility allows the system to overcome battery limitations (regulatory approval, charge status) while maintaining the benefit of reduced cable complexity when battery power is used.
Solution Approach 2:
The RF coil system is designed to accept multiple power sources (battery and AC power with galvanic isolator) and operates seamlessly between them. This multi-functionality ensures that practitioners are not frustrated by battery limitations, as they can switch to AC power when needed, while still enjoying the simplicity of battery operation when appropriate.
4Measurement precision
If different digitizer circuits are used for different coil types, then measurement precision is maintained, but manufacturing cost and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
A single universal digitizer circuit design is created that can be used across all RF coil types in the family. This universal digitizer maintains measurement precision for different coil configurations while significantly reducing manufacturing costs and complexity compared to having custom digitizers for each coil type.
Solution Approach 2:
The digitizer circuit is designed with dynamic configurability to adapt to different coil types and numbers of elements. This dynamic adaptation allows a single hardware design to serve multiple purposes, maintaining precision for each coil type without requiring separate custom-built digitizers.
Data Source
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AI summary
An apparatus includes a magnetic resonance (MR) receiver. The MR receiver includes at least one galvanic connector, at least one digitizer connected to the at least one galvanic connector, a power supply connected to the at least one digitizer, and a housing. The at least one galvanic connector connects in a connected configuration to a radio frequency (RF) coil element of at least one local RF coil to receive MR signals. The at least one digitizer converts the received MR signals to a digital format. The power supply provides power to operate the at least one digitizer. The housing is configured to removably attach to a housing of at least one local RF coil in the connected configuration to enclose the at least one galvanic connector and at least one digitizer with the housing and the attached the at least one local RF coil housing.