Mri system with wireless identification capability
First Claim
1. A magnetic resonance apparatus comprising:
- a main magnetic field generating assembly located in a magnetic resonance suite that generates a substantially spatially constant main magnetic field through at least a portion of a subject in an imaging region;
a gradient field generating assembly for overlaying spatially variant gradient magnetic fields onto the main magnetic field;
a radio frequency assembly for exciting magnetic resonance in dipoles in the imaging region;
a receiver for receiving magnetic resonance signals from the imaging region;
at least one radio frequency transponder affixed to an object in the magnetic resonance suite;
a transponder means for;
interrogating the transponder; and
, receiving data sent by the transponder, for indicating a location of the object to which it is affixed.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A magnetic resonance apparatus includes a main magnetic field generating assembly (12) located in a magnetic resonance suite generates a substantially spatially constant main magnetic field through at least a portion of a subject in an imaging region. A gradient field generating assembly (16) overlays spatially variant gradient magnetic fields onto the main magnetic field. A radio frequency assembly (22) excites magnetic resonance in dipoles of a subject in the imaging region. A receiver (36) receives magnetic resonance signals from resonating dipoles in the imaging region. Radio frequency transponders (60) are affixed to objects (22, 104, 106, 108, 110, 114) in the magnetic resonance suite. The transponders (60) are interrogated by a reader/writer (62) to determine which coils are in the bore (14) and whether other coils and objects are outside of a safety threshold (116).
25 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A magnetic resonance apparatus comprising:
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a main magnetic field generating assembly located in a magnetic resonance suite that generates a substantially spatially constant main magnetic field through at least a portion of a subject in an imaging region;
a gradient field generating assembly for overlaying spatially variant gradient magnetic fields onto the main magnetic field;
a radio frequency assembly for exciting magnetic resonance in dipoles in the imaging region;
a receiver for receiving magnetic resonance signals from the imaging region;
at least one radio frequency transponder affixed to an object in the magnetic resonance suite;
a transponder means for;
interrogating the transponder; and
,receiving data sent by the transponder, for indicating a location of the object to which it is affixed. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 18)
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13. A method of magnetic resonance comprising:
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generating a main magnetic field through an imaging region;
overlaying gradient magnetic fields onto the main magnetic field;
exciting magnetic resonance in selected dipoles of at least a portion of a subject located in the imaging region;
receiving and demodulating the magnetic resonance; and
interrogating at least one radio frequency transponder to indicate a location of a physical object with which it is associated. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 19)
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20. A magnetic resonance apparatus comprising:
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a main magnetic field generating assembly for generating a main magnetic field in an imaging region;
a gradient field assembly for imposing spatially variant gradient fields onto the main magnetic field;
a radio frequency transmit/receive assembly for exciting magnetic resonance in selected dipoles within the imaging region;
at least one local radio frequency receive coil located within a bore of the magnetic resonance apparatus, the coil having an electrical connection to the magnetic resonance apparatus;
a radio frequency identification transponder attached to the receive coil that carries at least the identity of the receive coil in an on-board memory;
a connection interrogator that determines identities of coils electrically connected to the apparatus;
a transponder reader/writer that determines identities of coils physically present inside the bore;
a comparitor that detects discrepancies between the identities of the coils electrically connected to the apparatus and those physically present inside the bore.
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Specification