VARIABLE ROTATABLE MR COIL

• US 20120293176A1
• Filed: 05/19/2012
• Published: 11/22/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/19/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Siemens Healthcare GMBH (Siemens AG)
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Zink, Stephan
• Granted Patent: US 9,046,578 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 324/322
• 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 33/34084 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 local coil for a magnetic resonance tomography system includes a plurality of coil elements. Each coil element of the plurality of coil elements has a point of application for another coil element of the plurality of coil elements. The coil element is connected to the other coil element at the point of application in a pivoting manner with respect to the coil element.

Claims

1. A local coil for a magnetic resonance tomography system, the local coil comprising:

a plurality of coil elements,

wherein at least two coil elements of the plurality of coil elements each has a point of application for another coil element of the plurality of coil elements, the coil element being connected to the other coil element in a pivoting manner with respect to the other coil element.

2. The local coil as claimed in claim 1, wherein a first coil element of the plurality of coil elements, to which a second coil element of the plurality of coils elements is connected in a pivoting manner about a point of application with respect to the first coil element, is rotatable about the point of application.

3. The local coil as claimed in claim 1, wherein a first coil element of the plurality of coil elements, to which a second coil element of the plurality of coil elements is connected in a pivoting manner through at least three hundred and sixty degrees about a point of application of the first coil, is rotatable through three hundred and sixty degrees or through more than at least three hundred and sixty degrees about the point of application of the first coil element.

4. The local coil as claimed in claim 1, wherein two coil elements of the plurality of coil elements are each connected to only one other coil element of the plurality of coil elements in a rotatable manner about a point of application, and

wherein precisely two coil elements of the plurality of coil elements are connected to only one coil element in a pivoting manner with respect to the one element.

5. The local coil as claimed in claim 1, wherein one or more coil elements of the plurality of coil elements are each connected to precisely two other coil elements of the plurality of coil elements in a pivoting manner with respect to the two other coil elements.

6. The local coil as claimed in claim 1, wherein more than three coil elements of the plurality of coil elements are each connected to precisely two other coil elements of the plurality of coil elements in a pivoting manner.

7. The local coil as claimed in claim 1, wherein, in plan view, a coil element of the plurality of coil elements has an at least approximately circularly delimited region.

8. The local coil as claimed in claim 1, wherein a coil element of the plurality of coil elements is flat in cross section.

9. The local coil as claimed in claim 1, wherein a coil element of the plurality of coil elements is circular or approximately circular in plan view.

10. The local coil as claimed in claim 1, wherein, in plan view, a coil element of the plurality of coil elements is circular or approximately circular, having an oblong connecting element connected to a circular section of the coil element, and

wherein an axis or longitudinal axis that runs exactly or approximately through a center point of the oblong connecting element also runs through the oblong connecting element.

11. The local coil as claimed in claim 1, wherein each coil element of the plurality of coil elements has precisely one or two points of application for connection to a point of application of another coil element of the plurality of coil elements.

12. The local coil as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of coil elements comprises more than three coil elements.

13. The local coil as claimed in claim 1, wherein the point of application comprises a joint.

14. The local coil as claimed in claim 1, wherein the point of application comprises a through-hole for another coil element of the plurality of coil elements.

15. The local coil as claimed in claim 1, wherein the point of application of a first coil element of the at least two coil elements comprises a first through-cutout,

wherein the point of application of a second coil element of the at least two coil elements comprises a second through-cutout, and

wherein a connecting element extends through each of the first through-cutout and the second through-cutout and interconnects the first coil element and the second coil element.

16. The local coil as claimed in claim 1, wherein a coil element of the plurality of coil elements has an antenna.

17. The local coil as claimed in claim 6, wherein more than four coil elements of the plurality of coil elements are each connected to precisely two other coil elements of the plurality of coil elements in a pivoting manner.

18. The local coil as claimed in claim 8, wherein the coil element is flat in cross section having a thickness of less than 20% or less than 10% of a maximum length in plan view.

19. The local coil as claimed in claim 9, wherein the coil element is circular or approximately circular in plan view with an oblong connecting element region rigidly connected to a circular section of the coil element, the oblong connecting element and the circular section of the coil element are formed in one piece, or a combination thereof.

20. The local coil as claimed in claim 12, wherein the plurality of coil elements comprises more than five coil elements.

21. The local coil as claimed in claim 13, wherein the point of application comprises a swivel joint.

22. The local coil as claimed in claim 15, wherein the connecting element comprises a pin.

23. The local coil as claimed in claim 16, wherein the antenna comprises an in cross-section at least approximately circular coil, with which in a magnetic resonance tomography device, a time-variant field is measureable at a location in a region.