HEAD COIL ARRANGEMENT FOR A MAGNETIC RESONANCE DEVICE

• US 20080007259A1
• Filed: 06/11/2007
• Published: 01/10/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/12/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Siemens Healthineers AG (Siemens AG)
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Driemel, Daniel
• Granted Patent: US 8,190,237 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 324/260
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/055 involving electronic [EMR] or nuclear [NMR] magnetic resonance, e.g. magnetic resonance imaging
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/702 Posture restraints
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/34084 implantable coils or coils being geometrically adaptable to the sample, e.g. flexible coils or coils comprising mutually movable parts
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/3415 comprising arrays of sub-coils , i.e. phased-array coils with flexible receiver channels

Abstract

A head coil arrangement for a magnetic resonance device has a housing on or in which a number of coils are arranged, the housing having at least two housing parts that can be moved toward each other for adjustment to different head sizes.

Claims

1. A head coil arrangement for a magnetic resonance device, comprising:

a plurality of radio-frequency coils;

a housing on which or in which said plurality of radio-frequency coils is carried; and

said housing comprising at least two housing parts that mechanically interact with each other to move toward each other to adjust said housing to different head sizes.

2. A head coil arrangement as claimed in claim 1 wherein said housing parts mechanically interact with each other to linearly move toward each other.

3. A head coil arrangement as claimed in claim 2 wherein said housing parts mechanically interact with each other to move toward each other in at least one of a longitudinal direction and a transverse direction of a head to be received in the housing.

4. A head coil arrangement as claimed in claim 1 comprising a linear guide mounted on at least one of said housing parts to linearly guide said housing parts toward each other.

5. A head coil arrangement as claimed in claim 1 comprising a swiveling connection between said housing parts allowing said housing parts to be swiveled toward each other.

6. A head coil arrangement as claimed in claim 1 comprising four housing parts each covering substantially one quarter of a head received in the housing, each of said four housing parts being linearly moveable into perpendicular directions with respect to another of said four housing parts adjacent thereto.

7. A head coil arrangement as claimed in claim 6 wherein each housing part comprises two linear guides at opposite ends thereof.

8. A head coil arrangement as claimed in claim 1 wherein said housing parts mechanically interact with each other so that as the housing parts are moved toward each other, said housing parts engage or overlap each other.

9. A head coil arrangement as claimed in claim 1 wherein said housing parts are at least partially flexible.

10. A head coil arrangement as claimed in claim 9 wherein each of said housing parts comprises a flexible region configured to press against a head received in said housing, with a pressing element located in the flexible region.

11. A head coil arrangement as claimed in claim 10 wherein said pressing element is a pressing element selected from the group consisting of pneumatic elements, air cushions, and springs.

12. A head coil arrangement as claimed in claim 10 wherein said flexible region is comprised of viscofoam.

13. A head coil arrangement as claimed in claim 1 wherein at least one of said housing parts comprises a fixing element to fix a head in the housing.

14. A head coil arrangement as claimed in claim 13 wherein said fixing element is an element selected from the group consisting of fixing cushions and gripping jaws.

15. A head coil arrangement as claimed in claim 1 wherein said housing parts are configured to cover the ears of a head received in the housing and, in a region of each housing part covering an ear, comprise a component selected from the group consisting of noise-protection components and communication components.

16. A head coil arrangement as claimed in claim 1 wherein at least one of said housing parts is removable from said housing.

17. A head coil arrangement as claimed in claim 1 wherein said housing parts comprise linear guides that linearly guide said housing parts toward each other, and a slide actuator that moves the respective housing parts in the linear guides.

18. A head coil arrangements as claimed in claim 1 comprising a movement mechanism selected from the group consisting of a gear mechanism and a screw mechanism, that is operable to move said housing parts toward each other.

19. A head coil arrangement as claimed in claim 18 comprising a rotatable wheel connected to said movement mechanism forming a manually-operable actuator for said movement mechanism.

20. A head coil arrangement as claimed in claim 1 comprising a pneumatic arrangement connected to at least one of said housing parts to move said housing parts toward each other.

21. A head coil arrangement as claimed in claim 1 comprising a motor in driving connection with at least one of said housing parts to move said housing parts toward each other.

22. A head coil arrangement as claimed in claim 21 wherein said motor is a remotely-operable motor.

23. A head coil arrangement as claimed in claim 17 comprising a movement mechanism connected to at least one of said housing parts that is operable to move said housing parts toward each other, and a sensor that senses a pressure applied by said housing parts to a head received in said housing, said movement mechanism being controlled dependent on an output of said sensor.

24. A head coil arrangement as claimed in claim 23 wherein said movement mechanism is a mechanism selected from the group consisting of a motor and a pneumatic mechanism.

25. A head coil arrangement as claimed in claim 1 comprising a sensor that senses a spacing of the housing parts from a head received in said housing, and a movement mechanism that controls movement of said housing parts toward each other, said movement mechanism being operated dependent on an output signal from said sensor.

26. A head coil arrangement as claimed in claim 25 wherein said movement mechanism is a mechanism selected from the group consisting of a motor and a pneumatic mechanism.

27. A head coil arrangement as claimed in claim 1 wherein different coils in said plurality of coils are respectively mounted on different ones of said housing parts, and comprising a flexible connector that electrically conductively connects said different coils.