PEDIATRIC COIL ASSEMBLY

• US 20120126814A1
• Filed: 11/19/2010
• Published: 05/24/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/19/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Quality Electrodynamics (QED), LLC, Siemens Healthineers AG (Siemens AG)
• Original Assignee: Quality Electrodynamics (QED), LLC
• Inventors: Fischer, Hubertus, Fujita, Hiroyuki, Lauer, Lars, Herczak, Joseph
• Granted Patent: US 9,116,212 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 324/318
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/30 Sample handling arrangements, e.g. sample cells, spinning mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/34007 Manufacture of RF coils, e.g. using printed circuit board technology; additional hardware for providing mechanical support to the RF coil assembly or to part thereof, e.g. a support for moving the coil assembly relative to the remainder of the MR system
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/34046 Volume type coils, e.g. bird-cage coils; Quadrature bird-cage coils; Circularly polarised coils
• 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

In order to increase the signal to noise ratio, and thus increase the quality of images produced during pediatric MRI, a pediatric RF coil assembly includes a head coil and a flexible body coil in a single dedicated device shaped and sized for a child. The flexible body coil may be operable to at least partially surround and abut the body of the child located on the pediatric RF coil assembly, while the head coil may at least partially surround and abut the head of the child located on the pediatric RF coil assembly. In order to optimize workflow, the child may be positioned on the pediatric RF coil assembly in a first room and moved to a second room including an MRI system after the child is brought to sleep or sedated in the first room. The pediatric RF coil assembly and the child may be moved to the second room using a handle rotatably attached to the pediatric RF coil assembly, and may be positioned on a patient table of the MRI system when the imaging process is to begin.

Claims

1. A radiofrequency (RF) coil assembly comprising:

a flexible body portion comprising an RF coil and being operable to flex to at least partially surround the body of a patient;

a head portion comprising an RF coil and at least partially surrounding the head of the patient located on the RF coil assembly; and

a coil connector electrically connected to the RF coil of the flexible body portion and the RF coil of the head portion.

2. The RF coil assembly of claim 1, further comprising a fastener operable to fix the position of a first end of the flexible body portion relative to a second end of the flexible body portion, such that the flexible body portion at least partially surrounds the body of the patient.

3. The RF coil assembly of claim 1, wherein the flexible body portion further comprises an integrated printed circuit board (PCB), the integrated PCB comprising an RF receiver circuit electrically connected to the RF coil of the flexible body portion and the coil connector.

4. The RF coil assembly of claim 3, wherein the RF receiver circuit comprises an amplifier.

5. The RF coil assembly of claim 1, wherein at least part of the flexible body portion is made of closed-cell foam.

6. The RF coil assembly of claim 1, wherein the RF coil of the flexible body portion is a surface coil.

7. The RF coil assembly of claim 1, wherein the RF coil of the head portion is a volume coil.

8. The RF coil assembly of claim 1, wherein the coil connector is operable to be electrically connected to a magnetic resonance imaging system-side connector.

9. A pediatric radiofrequency (RF) coil assembly comprising:

a base comprising a first RF coil;

a flexible body coil housing supported by the base, the flexible body coil housing comprising a second RF coil; and

a head coil housing removably attached to the base, the head coil housing comprising a third RF coil and operable to at least partially surround the head of a patient located on the RF coil assembly.

10. The pediatric RF coil assembly of claim 9, wherein the flexible body coil housing is operable to at least partially surround the body of the patient located on the pediatric RF coil assembly.

11. The pediatric RF coil assembly of claim 9, wherein the head coil housing is one of a plurality of head coil housings attachable to the base, each head coil housing of the plurality having a different size.

12. The pediatric RF coil assembly of claim 9, further comprising a handle rotatably attached to the base.

13. The pediatric RF coil assembly of claim 9, wherein the base, the flexible body coil housing and the head coil housing combined comprise between 20 and 30 RF coils.

14. The pediatric RF coil assembly of claim 9, wherein the third RF coil is a volume coil.

15. The pediatric RF coil assembly of claim 9, wherein at least part of the head coil housing is made of polycarbonate.

16. A method of using a pediatric radiofrequency (RF) coil assembly, the method comprising:

positioning a patient on the pediatric RF coil assembly in a first room;

transferring the pediatric RF coil assembly and the patient to a second room, the second room including a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system;

electrically connecting the pediatric RF coil assembly to the MRI system;

imaging a portion of the patient using the MRI system and at least one coil in the pediatric RF coil assembly.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein transferring the pediatric RF coil assembly and the patient comprises using a handle rotatably attached to the pediatric RF coil assembly.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein positioning the patient on the pediatric RF coil assembly comprises:

positioning the patient on a first surface of a flexible body portion of the pediatric RF coil assembly, the flexible body portion comprising an RF coil; and

wrapping the flexible body portion of the pediatric RF coil assembly around at least part of the patient,

wherein the RF coil of the flexible body portion is operable to be electrically connected to the MRI system.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein positioning the patient on the pediatric RF coil assembly further comprises fixing the position of a first end of the flexible body portion relative to a second end of the flexible body portion with a fastener attached to a second surface of the flexible body portion.

20. The method of claim 16, further comprising attaching a head portion comprising an RF coil to the pediatric RF coil assembly after the patient has been positioned on the pediatric RF coil assembly,

wherein the RF coil of the head portion is operable to be electrically connected to the MRI system.