Dynamic Power Management for MRI Facility Components
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Solution Overview
Problem
Magnetic resonance facilities with superconducting coils face high power consumption challenges, particularly during emergency operations, due to the high power requirements of components like cold heads, gradient amplifiers, and high-frequency amplifiers, which can exceed available power supplies in less robust networks.
Innovation Solution
Implementing an energy control facility to monitor and manage power consumption across key components, setting a threshold value or 'power budget' that prioritizes operating safety and adjusts component operations to prevent exceeding this limit, using sensors and predictive calculations to optimize power usage based on current and future examination protocols.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the power of the emergency power unit is matched to the theoretical maximum power consumption of the magnetic resonance facility, then the facility can operate during emergencies, but the power unit is oversized and not fully utilized during rare emergency operations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic power management by continuously monitoring the power consumption of individual components (cold head, cooling facility, gradient amplifier, high-frequency amplifier) and adjusting their operation in real-time. This allows the system to adapt power distribution dynamically based on actual needs rather than operating at fixed maximum capacity, resolving the contradiction between ensuring emergency capability and avoiding oversized power unit utilization
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes operational parameters of power-consuming components based on monitoring data and predetermined criteria. By adjusting operating parameters such as compressor speed, cooling capacity, and amplifier power levels, the system can maintain emergency operation capability while optimizing actual power consumption to match available power supply, thus avoiding the need for continuously oversized power units
2Productivity
If components operate at maximum power levels to ensure sufficient system performance, then imaging quality and speed are maintained, but overall power consumption exceeds available power supply capacity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by operating components at optimized power levels rather than always at maximum capacity. By monitoring actual power consumption and comparing it with available power supply, the system determines appropriate operating levels for each component that provide sufficient imaging performance without exceeding power supply capacity, thus implementing partial rather than excessive power delivery
Solution Approach 2:
The system segments the overall power consumption into individual component contributions (cold head, cooling facility, gradient amplifier, high-frequency amplifier). By monitoring and controlling each component's power consumption separately based on predetermined criteria, the system can optimize the power distribution across segments to achieve adequate overall performance within available power constraints
Data Source
AI summary
A method for operating a magnetic resonance facility is proposed. The magnetic resonance facility has a number of power-consuming components. The power consumption is determined for each component. Operation of the components is controlled based on at least one criterion so that a predetermined threshold value for the overall power consumption of the magnetic resonance facility is not exceeded.