METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR A UNIVERSAL NMR/MRI CONSOLE
First Claim
1. A method for providing values for control signals for a pulsed magnetic resonance spectrometer, wherein said method comprises:
- obtaining a source pulsed magnetic resonance spectrometer and associated control electronics characterized by ms input channels and ns output channels (“
source spectrometer”
), a target pulsed magnetic resonance spectrometer and associated control electronics characterized by mt input channels and nt output channels (“
target spectrometer”
), and an independent control device characterized by p input channels and q output channels capable of producing independent variable signals;
connecting at least one of said p input channels of said independent control device to at least one of said ns output channels of said source spectrometer;
measuring at least one value of at least one output analog signal emitted by said control electronics of said source spectrometer when said control electronics are operating according to a predetermined pulse sequence;
storing said at least one value;
connecting at least one of said q output channels of said independent control device to at least one corresponding input of said target spectrometer;
providing at least one signal from said independent control device to said at least one input of the control electronics of said target spectrometer;
bringing at least one value of at least one analog output signal emitted by said control electronics of said target spectrometer to within a predetermined tolerance of a target value; and
,storing at least one value of said signal output by said independent control device corresponding to the value of said signal output when said analog output signal from said target spectrometer is within said predetermined tolerance of said target value,thereby providing a value for said signal provided by said independent control device to said target spectrometer required to produce a predetermined analog output signal.
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Abstract
A method and system are provided for providing values for control signals for a pulsed magnetic resonance spectrometer such as an NMR spectrometer or an MRI apparatus. The AC output(s) corresponding to a particular signal (e.g. a magnetization or gradient pulse or pulse sequence) originating from a source spectrometer is measured and stored by an independent control unit. The digital output of the independent control unit is then connected to the digital input of the control electronics of a target pulsed magnetic resonance spectrometer, the value of the digital output varied until the AC output(s) of the appropriate signal source of the target spectrometer matches that of the corresponding output(s) of the source spectrometer, corrected, if necessary, for differences in magnetic field strengths.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A method for providing values for control signals for a pulsed magnetic resonance spectrometer, wherein said method comprises:
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obtaining a source pulsed magnetic resonance spectrometer and associated control electronics characterized by ms input channels and ns output channels (“
source spectrometer”
), a target pulsed magnetic resonance spectrometer and associated control electronics characterized by mt input channels and nt output channels (“
target spectrometer”
), and an independent control device characterized by p input channels and q output channels capable of producing independent variable signals;connecting at least one of said p input channels of said independent control device to at least one of said ns output channels of said source spectrometer; measuring at least one value of at least one output analog signal emitted by said control electronics of said source spectrometer when said control electronics are operating according to a predetermined pulse sequence; storing said at least one value; connecting at least one of said q output channels of said independent control device to at least one corresponding input of said target spectrometer; providing at least one signal from said independent control device to said at least one input of the control electronics of said target spectrometer; bringing at least one value of at least one analog output signal emitted by said control electronics of said target spectrometer to within a predetermined tolerance of a target value; and
,storing at least one value of said signal output by said independent control device corresponding to the value of said signal output when said analog output signal from said target spectrometer is within said predetermined tolerance of said target value, thereby providing a value for said signal provided by said independent control device to said target spectrometer required to produce a predetermined analog output signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
thereby providing means for calculating the value of an input signal to said target pulsed magnetic resonance spectrometer necessary to produce an arbitrary output signal.
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10. The method according to claim 9, wherein, for each value of x:
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said step of connecting at least one of said p input channels of said independent control device to at least of one of said ns output channels of said source spectrometer comprises connecting y input channels toy output channels, 1<
y≦
p;said step of connecting at least one of said q output channels of said independent control device to at least one corresponding input of said target spectrometer comprises connecting y output channels of said independent control device to y corresponding input channels of said target spectrometer; said step of storing said at least one value comprises storing y values of said output signal, one for each output channel; and
,said step of storing each of said values at least one signal from said independent control device comprises storing y values, one for each input channel; thereby producing xy pairs of values.
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11. The method according to claim 1, wherein said steps of storing are performed using digital storage means associated with said independent control device.
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12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the time resolution of said independent control device is greater than that of any D/A converter in said control electronics of said source pulsed magnetic resonance spectrometer.
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13. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:
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providing a plurality of independent measuring means to said independent control device, each of said measuring means having a time resolution faster than that of said spectrometers; measuring the value of at least one analog output of one of said spectrometers using at least two of said independent measuring means in turn; and
,alerting an operator if at least one result of said step of measuring differs from at least one other result of said step of measuring by more than a predetermined tolerance.
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14. An independent control unit for using analog output values from the control electronics of a source pulsed magnetic resonance spectrometer (“
- source spectrometer”
) to provide values for control signals for a target pulsed magnetic resonance spectrometer (“
target spectrometer”
), wherein said independent control unit comprises;a plurality p of input channels for accepting analog input signals from said source spectrometer; signal measuring means for measuring parameters associated with said analog input signals; a plurality q of output channels for directing control signals to said target spectrometer; signal generating means for generating q independent output signals, each of said independent signals directed toward a separate output channel; signal value storage means for storing values of said analog input signals and said output signals; comparing means for comparing a measured value of an input signal with a stored value; and
,calculating means for calculating a value of an output signal required to produce a predetermined output analog signal from said target spectrometer. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17)
- source spectrometer”
Specification