LOCAL COIL AND MANUFACTURE OF MECHANICALLY PREFORMED, FLEXIBLE LOCAL COILS FOR MRI

• US 20130190607A1
• Filed: 07/20/2012
• Published: 07/25/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/21/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Siemens AG
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Biber, Stephan, Fischer, Hubertus, Kundner, Thomas, Rothard, Jrg
• Application Number:
  US13/554,901
• Publication Number:
  US 20130190607A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/422
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/055 involving electronic [EMR] or nuclear [NMR] magnetic resonance, e.g. magnetic resonance imaging
• 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 33/341 comprising surface coils
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/3415 comprising arrays of sub-coils , i.e. phased-array coils with flexible receiver channels
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 41/04 for manufacturing coils coils for transformer or inductances H01F27/28
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 41/041 Printed circuit coils apparatus or processes for manufacturing printed circuits in general H05K3/00
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49071 by winding or coiling

Abstract

A method for manufacturing a local coil for a magnetic resonance tomography device includes manufacturing the local coil with a flat cross-section. The method also includes deforming the local coil from the flat cross-section into a curved cross-section.

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing a local coil for a magnetic resonance tomography device, the method comprising:

manufacturing the local coil with a flat cross-section; and

deforming, as part of the manufacturing, the local coil with the flat cross-section into a curved cross-section.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein manufacturing comprises manufacturing the local coil with the flat cross-section with a cross-section having a section at least approximately at right angles to a provided longitudinal patient direction or head-foot direction of the local coil.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein manufacturing comprises manufacturing the local coil as mechanically flexible.

4. The method as claimed in claim 3, wherein manufacturing comprises manufacturing the local coil as elastically bendable at least about a longitudinal patient axis, the z-axis, or the longitudinal patient axis and the z-axis.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein manufacturing comprises using a foam technique.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein deforming comprises thermoplastically deforming the local coil into the curved cross-section.

7. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein manufacturing the local coil comprises manufacturing a chest coil, a thorax coil, an abdomen coil, a head coil, a heart coil, a knee coil, an ankle coil or a shoulder joint coil.

8. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein manufacturing comprises manufacturing the local coil such that the local coil has a shape adjusted to an average patient anatomy in an unbent initial state.

9. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein manufacturing comprises manufacturing the local coil such that the local coil has a surface adjusted to a body surface of an average patient.

10. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein manufacturing comprises manufacturing the local coil such that, in an unbent initial state, the local coil has a shape adjusted to an average patient anatomy.

11. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein manufacturing comprises manufacturing the local coil such that, in an unbent initial state, the local coil has a surface adjusted to a body surface of an average patient.

12. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein manufacturing comprises manufacturing the local coil such that the local coil is elastically bendable wholly or only in a region of a lateral flank, from the curved cross-section into a greater or lesser curved cross-section.

13. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein manufacturing comprises incorporating spring plastic parts.

14. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the incorporating spring plastic parts comprises incorporating rods, flat elements, rubbers, springs, or a combination thereof.

15. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein manufacturing comprises manufacturing the local coil with a flat longitudinal section, the flat longitudinal section being a section at least approximately vertical relative to an axis passing through both shoulders of a patient.

16. A local coil for a magnetic resonance tomography device, the local coil comprising:

a curved cross-section in a resting state, the curved cross-section incorporating a deformation from a flat cross-section; and

flexible material allowing bending of the curved cross-section in application to a patient.

17. The local coil as claimed in claim 16, wherein the flexible material is mechanically flexible.

18. The local coil as claimed in claim 17, wherein the flexible material is elastically bendable about a longitudinal axis of the patient, the z-axis, or the longitudinal axis of the patient and the z-axis.

19. The local coil as claimed in claim 16, wherein the local coil is manufactured from a thermoplastic at least partially, in a housing of the local coil, or at least partially and in the housing of the local coil.

20. The local coil as claimed in claim 16, wherein the local coil is a chest coil, a thorax coil, an abdomen coil, a head coil, a heart coil, a knee coil, an ankle coil or shoulder joint coil.

21. The local coil as claimed in claim 16, wherein in an unbent initial state, the local coil has a shape adjusted to an average patient anatomy.

22. The local coil as claimed in claim 21, wherein in the unbent initial state, the local coil has a surface adjusted to a body surface of an average patient.

23. The local coil as claimed in claim 16, wherein the local coil is curved in an unbent initial state.

24. The local coil as claimed in claim 16, wherein in an unbent initial state, the local coil has a shape adjusted to an average patient anatomy.

25. The local coil as claimed in claim 24, wherein in the unbent initial state, the local coil has a surface adjusted to a body surface of an average patient.

26. The local coil as claimed in claim 16, wherein the local coil is bendable wholly or only in a region of a lateral flank from the curved cross-section elastically into a greater or lesser curved cross-section.

27. The local coil as claimed in claim 16, further comprising spring plastic parts.

28. The local coil as claimed in claim 27, wherein the spring plastic parts comprise rods, flat elements, rubbers, springs, or a combination thereof.