Local Coil Memory Buffer for MRI Signal Prioritization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for transmitting magnetic resonance signals from local coils to control and evaluation devices face challenges in achieving real-time data transfer due to bandwidth limitations, especially in applications requiring high data transmission rates, such as catheter navigation and ablation procedures.
Innovation Solution
A local coil system that digitizes analog magnetic resonance signals and stores them in an internal memory, allowing for a different read-out sequence than the write-in sequence, prioritizing high-priority signals for immediate transfer during receive times and low-priority signals for later transfer during receive pauses or upon request, enabling efficient data transmission even with lower data rates.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If digital transmission is used to reduce bandwidth requirements, then data transmission efficiency is improved, but real-time data transfer capability deteriorates due to smaller bandwidth compared to analog high-frequency cable connections
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by storing received analog magnetic resonance signals in an internal memory buffer before digital conversion and transmission. This allows the system to accumulate data during receive times and transfer it during receive pauses, preparing data in advance to meet real-time transmission requirements despite limited bandwidth.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements periodic action by operating in repeating measurement cycles with distinct receive times and receive pauses. During receive times, signals are captured and stored; during receive pauses, the stored digital signals are transmitted. This periodic alternation between data acquisition and data transmission phases enables efficient bandwidth utilization while maintaining real-time processing capability.
2Loss of information
If all magnetic resonance signals are transmitted with equal priority, then data completeness is improved, but real-time processing capability deteriorates due to inability to prioritize critical data
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by assigning different priority levels to different portions of the magnetic resonance signal data. High-priority signals (e.g., those containing critical diagnostic information) are identified and transmitted first during receive pauses, while low-priority signals are transmitted later. This differential treatment of data portions ensures that the most important information reaches the control device in real-time while maintaining overall data completeness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements segmentation by dividing the magnetic resonance signal data into high-priority and low-priority segments. This segmentation allows the system to transmit critical data segments immediately during receive pauses while deferring less critical segments, thereby achieving real-time processing for essential information while preserving complete data sets for comprehensive analysis.
3Productivity
If high data transmission rate is used to achieve real-time transfer, then real-time processing capability is improved, but bandwidth requirements worsen beyond available cable transmission capacity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses periodic action to decouple the high-rate signal acquisition during receive times from the lower-rate transmission during receive pauses. By accumulating data in an internal buffer at high rates and then transmitting at lower rates during periodic intervals, the system achieves real-time processing throughput without requiring sustained high-bandwidth connections that exceed cable capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-storing magnetic resonance signals in internal memory during receive times before transmission occurs. This allows the system to prepare large volumes of data at high acquisition rates and then transfer them at lower rates during receive pauses, achieving real-time processing capability without requiring proportional high-bandwidth transmission capacity throughout the entire measurement cycle.
Data Source
AI summary
A local coil for magnetic resonance applications receives analog magnetic resonance signals excited by an excitation signal in an examination object using a plurality of receive antennas. The local coil digitizes the received analog magnetic resonance signals and stores the digitized magnetic resonance signals in digital form in a write-in sequence in an internal local coil memory. The local coil reads the digitized magnetic resonance signals stored in the internal local coil memory out of the internal local coil memory in a read-out sequence that is different from the write-in sequence and transfers the digitized magnetic resonance signals to a control and evaluation device of a magnetic resonance unit.