Magnetic resonance imaging

• US 20070232894A1
• Filed: 04/03/2006
• Published: 10/04/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 04/03/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: General Electric Company
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Feenan, Peter
• Granted Patent: US 7,599,728 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/410
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/055 involving electronic [EMR] or nuclear [NMR] magnetic resonance, e.g. magnetic resonance imaging
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 11/00 Baby-incubators; Couveuses
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 2203/46 for temperature
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/307 specially adapted for moving the sample relative to the MR system, e.g. spinning mechanisms, flow cells or means for positioning the sample inside a spectrometer
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/381 using electromagnets
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/3815 with superconducting coils, e.g. power supply therefor

Abstract

A neonate imaging system is provided. The neonate imaging system includes a neonate magnetic resonance imaging system and a mobile neonate incubator system adapted for connection to the neonate magnetic resonance imaging system. The mobile neonate incubator system has an extendable and retractable carriage configured to shuttle the neonate between the mobile neonate incubator system and the neonate magnetic resonance imaging system. A neonate magnetic resonance imaging system is also provided. The neonate magnetic resonance imaging system includes a cylindrical magnet. The cylindrical magnet has a bore with dimensions that approximate dimensions of the neonate. A mobile neonate incubator system is further provided. The mobile neonate incubator system has an extendable and retractable neonate shuttling carriage.

Claims

1. A neonate imaging system comprising:

a neonate magnetic resonance imaging system; and

a mobile neonate incubator system adapted for connection to the neonate magnetic resonance imaging system, the mobile neonate incubator system having an extendable and retractable carriage configured to shuttle the neonate between the mobile neonate incubator system and the neonate magnetic resonance imaging system.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the neonate magnetic resonance imaging system has dimensions scaled to dimension of the neonate.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising a cart for transporting the mobile neonate incubator system to the neonate magnetic resonance imaging system.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the neonate magnetic resonance imaging system and the mobile neonate incubator system have complementary mating connection points that align with each other when the neonate magnetic resonance imaging system and the mobile neonate incubator system align.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the complementary mating connection points comprise a locking mechanism that engages when the complementary mating connection points align with each other.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein extension of the carriage is prevented prior to alignment of the complementary mating connection points with each other.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the carriage has a continuous, controlled environment with the mobile neonate incubator system.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the mobile neonate incubator system, when connected to the neonate magnetic resonance imaging system, has a continuous, controlled environment with the neonate magnetic resonance imaging system.

9. The system of claim 1, further comprising a monitoring system for visually monitoring the neonate.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the monitoring system is one or more of a camera-based monitoring system, a mirror-based monitoring system and a fiber optic-based monitoring system.

11. A neonate magnetic resonance imaging system comprising a cylindrical magnet, the cylindrical magnet having a bore with dimensions that approximate dimensions of the neonate.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the magnet is a superconducting magnet.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the magnet is a three Tesla superconducting magnet.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the bore has a diameter of between about 30 and about 50 centimeters.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the bore has a diameter of between about 35 and about 45 centimeters.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein the magnet has a plurality of main magnetic field-producing coils and a plurality of screening coils.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the magnet has more than two screening coils.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein the magnet has four screening coils.

19. The system of claim 16, wherein the superconducting magnet produces a fringe magnetic field that has strength of about five Gauss at a distance of about 1.5 meters in an x-axial direction from an x-axial center of the magnet and 1.1 meters in a y-axial direction from a y-axial center of the magnet.

20. The system of claim 16, wherein the superconducting magnet produces a fringe magnetic field that has a strength of about five Gauss at a distance of about 1.7 meters in an x-axial direction from an x-axial center of the magnet and about one meter in a y-axial direction from a y-axial center of the magnet.

21. The system of claim 11, further comprising a gradient coil.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the gradient coil defines an inner cavity of the magnet.

23. The system of claim 21, wherein one or more surfaces of the gradient coil are coated with an acoustic noise reduction material.

24. The system of claim 21, wherein the gradient coil has a cooling component associated therewith.

25. A mobile neonate incubator system having an extendable and retractable neonate shuttling carriage.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein environmental factors within the mobile neonate incubator system are regulated.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein the environmental factors are one or more of temperature, humidity and oxygenation.

28. The system of claim 25, further comprising an incubator control module adapted to regulate environmental factors within the mobile neonate incubator system.

29. The system of claim 25, further comprising an incubator control module adapted to monitor conditions within the mobile neonate incubator system.

30. The system of claim 25, further comprising an incubator control module adapted to monitor one or more vital signs of the neonate.

31. The system of claim 25, wherein the shuttling carriage comprises:

a front bulkhead;

a rear bulkhead; and

a carriage support extending between the front bulkhead and the rear bulkhead.

32. The system of claim 31, wherein the rear bulkhead comprises a Faraday shield on a surface thereof facing the front bulkhead.

33. A combined closed environment and imaging apparatus comprising:

an imaging system having an imaging bore and configured to acquire diagnostic imaging data of a medical patient; and

a mobile carrier supporting a closed environment patient housing that is configured to allow placement of the closed environment patient housing in the imaging bore without removal of the closed environment patient housing from the mobile carrier.

34. The combined apparatus of claim 33 wherein the mobile carrier includes an extendable and retractable carriage operably connected to extend and retract the closed environment patient housing to and from the imaging bore.

35. The combined apparatus of claim 33 wherein the imaging system is a magnetic resonance imaging system.

36. The combined apparatus of claim 33 wherein the closed environment housing is sized to receive a neonate.

37. The combined apparatus of claim 33 wherein the imaging system and mobile carrier have complimentary mating connection points that align with each other when the imaging system and mobile carrier align, and wherein placement of the closed environment housing in the imaging bore is prevented if the complimentary connection points are misaligned.

38. A neonatal incubator comprising:

a mobile carrier; and

a neonate carriage providing a controlled environment for a neonate and supported by the mobile carrier, the neonate carriage extendable and retractable into an imaging bore of a medical scanner to allow imaging of a neonate without removal of the neonate carriage from the mobile carrier.

39. The incubator of claim 38 wherein the neonate carriage is absent of metallic materials.

40. The incubator of claim 38 further comprising an incubator control module that includes one or more probes, leads, and sensors to monitor neonate condition and condition of the controlled environment.