Adaptable MRI Coil Sheet with Retractable Storage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current MRI systems face challenges in accommodating patients of varying sizes and shapes, leading to discomfort and inferior image quality due to the use of a single sheet of receiver coils, which may be either too loose or too tight, and require multiple coils that increase costs and installation time.
Innovation Solution
An adaptable sheet of coils stored within a cradle with a storage structure that includes rotatable bodies and springs, allowing the requisite expanse of the coils to be pulled out based on patient size and geometry for a comfortable and secure fit, and automatically retracting after use.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a single sheet of receiver coils is used for patients of various sizes, then device complexity is reduced, but patient comfort and image quality deteriorate due to improper fit
Solution Approach 1:
The receiver coil sheet is designed with a flexible substrate that allows dynamic adjustment of its effective area. The sheet can be extended or retracted based on patient size requirements, transforming a static single-sheet design into a dynamically adaptable system that maintains proper fit across different patient dimensions without requiring multiple fixed-size sheets
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the physical parameter of the coil sheet's effective area by extending or retracting portions of the flexible substrate. This parameter change allows the same single sheet to adapt to various patient sizes, resolving the contradiction between device simplicity and adaptability
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple sheets of receiver coils are maintained for patients of different sizes, then adaptability improves, but device complexity and installation time increase
Solution Approach 1:
A single receiver coil sheet is designed to perform multiple functions by accommodating patients of various sizes through extension and retraction mechanisms. This universal design eliminates the need for multiple specialized coil sheets while maintaining adaptability across different patient dimensions
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible substrate enables the single coil sheet to dynamically adjust its configuration, transforming it from a fixed-size component into a multi-functional device that can serve various patient sizes, thereby reducing the total number of coil sheets needed
3Measurement precision
If the receiver coil sheet is tightly fitted to improve image quality, then measurement precision improves, but patient comfort deteriorates due to anxiety
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible substrate allows the coil sheet to achieve local conformality to the patient's body contours while maintaining overall comfort. The sheet can be extended or retracted to provide appropriate contact pressure in different regions, ensuring good signal reception without causing excessive tightness or patient anxiety
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution reduces installation time, enhances patient comfort, and improves image quality by ensuring a close and adequate fit for patients of all sizes, while minimizing the need for multiple coil sets and simplifying the imaging process.
Implementation Method 1
a plurality of springs that are coupled to one or more of the plurality of second set of rotatable bodies
Data Source
AI summary
An imaging system is presented. The imaging system includes a storage structure that stores a first sheet of coils inside a cradle, wherein the storage structure includes a plurality of first set of rotatable bodies and a plurality of second set of rotatable bodies, and a plurality of springs that are coupled to one or more of the plurality of second set of rotatable bodies, wherein the first sheet of coils is disposed around the plurality of first set of rotatable bodies, the plurality of second set of rotatable bodies and the plurality of springs, and wherein a first end of the first sheet of coils protrudes out of the cradle.