SWITCHING FOR DISTRIBUTING RECEIVE SIGNALS OF AN MR SYSTEM TO RECEIVERS

• US 20160178712A1
• Filed: 12/22/2015
• Published: 06/23/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/23/2014
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Siemens AG
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Biber, Stephan
• Application Number:
  US14/978,775
• Publication Number:
  US 20160178712A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 33/3415 comprising arrays of sub-coils , i.e. phased-array coils with flexible receiver channels
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/3621 NMR receivers or demodulators, e.g. preamplifiers, means for frequency modulation of the MR signal using a digital down converter, means for analog to digital conversion [ADC] or for filtering or processing of the MR signal such as bandpass filtering, resampling, decimation or interpolation
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/3664 Switching for purposes other than coil coupling or decoupling, e.g. switching between a phased array mode and a quadrature mode, switching between surface coil modes of different geometrical shapes, switching from a whole body reception coil to a local reception coil or switching for automatic coil selection in moving table MR or for changing the field-of-view G01R33/3671 takes precedence

Abstract

The present embodiments relate to a magnetic resonance tomography system including a plurality of MRT connectors for connecting antenna elements of one of a plurality of local coils. The antenna elements of one of the local coils connected to one of the MRT connectors may be switched by a switching matrix to receivers of one of a plurality of receiver blocks, each having a plurality of receivers.

Claims

1. A magnetic resonance tomography (MRT) system comprising:

a plurality of MRT connectors for connecting antenna elements to respective ones of a plurality of local coils,

wherein the antenna elements of a first one of the local coils connect to a first one of the MRT connectors are switched by a switching matrix to receivers of a first one of a plurality of receiver blocks, each the plurality of receiver blocks having a plurality of receivers.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein all of the antenna elements of the first one of the local coils connected to the first one of the MRT connectors are switched by the switching matrix to the receivers of a first one of a plurality of receiver blocks, and wherein all of the antenna elements of another of the local coils connected to another of the MRT connectors are switched by the switching matrix to receivers of another receiver block.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein fewer receivers are provided in the magnetic resonance tomography system than the total number of antenna elements provided by the local coils connectable to the MRT connectors.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the switching matrix, the receivers, or the switching matrix and/or receivers are installed in the patient couch of the magnetic resonance tomography system.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein, out of fewer than all the MRT connectors connected to the switching matrix, only antenna elements that are connectable to said MRT connectors are switched to the receivers by the switching matrix.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the switching matrix connects precisely one of the antenna elements to precisely one of the receivers by through-connecting in a DC-coupled, optical, inductive and/or decoupled manner.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the receivers has one amplifier.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein some or all of the MRT connectors are patient couch connectors mounted on a patient couch, wherein the patient couch connectors are mounted at the head end, at the foot end of a patient couch, or a combination thereof.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein some or all of the MRT connectors are mounted on the housing of the MRT, at the bore of the MRT, or a combination thereof.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the switching matrix, the receivers, or the switching matrix and the receivers are installed in a patient couch of the magnetic resonance tomography system at the head end, or at the end of the patient couch that is closer to the bore when the patient couch is withdrawn from the bore of the magnetic resonance tomography device.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the switching matrix, the receivers, or the switching matrix and the receivers are installed in the patient couch of the magnetic resonance tomography system at the foot end or, at the end of the patient couch farther away from the bore when the patient couch is withdrawn from the bore of the magnetic resonance tomography device.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the switching matrix, the receivers, or the switching matrix and the receivers are installed on the housing of the MRT, at the bore of the MRT, or a combination thereof.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the receivers are arranged in one, two, three or more groups of receive blocks.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the receivers are arranged in two, three, or more than three groups of receive blocks that all contain a different number of receivers.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein the receivers are arranged in two, three, or more than three groups of receive blocks that all contain an equal number of receivers.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein the receivers are arranged in three or more than three groups of receive blocks, wherein two of the groups contain a different number of receivers, and wherein two of the groups contain the same number of receivers.

17. The system of claim 1, wherein the receivers are arranged in groups of receive blocks, wherein at least one of the groups has fewer receivers than there are antenna elements that are connectable to at least one of the MRT connectors.

18. The system of claim 1, wherein the receivers are provided or arranged in groups of receive blocks, wherein at least one receive block has the same number of receivers as there are antenna elements that are connectable to at least one of the MRT connectors.

19. The system of claim 1, wherein the MRT connectors connected to the switching matrix have the same number of contacts, may be connected to the same number of antenna elements of local coils that are connectable to the MRT connectors, or a combination thereof.

20. The system of claim 1, wherein the MRT connectors connected to the switching matrix have a different number of contacts, are connectable to the same number of antenna elements of local coils, or a combination thereof.

21. The system of claim 1, wherein the MRT connectors connected to the switching matrix are connectable to a total of ninety-six antenna elements of local coils.

22. The system of claim 1, wherein out of the MRT connectors connected to the switching matrix, one of the MRT connectors are connectable to sixty-four, thirty-two, twenty-four, eighteen, sixteen, twelve, eight, four or two antenna elements of a local coil.

23. The system of claim 1, wherein out of the MRT connectors connected to the switching matrix, one is connectable to six receivers, connectable to eighteen receivers, connectable to twenty-four receivers, or a combination thereof.

24. The system of claim 1, wherein out of the MRT connectors connected to the switching matrix, each of the MRT connectors are connectable or connected to a different local coil.

25. The system of claim 1, wherein out of the MRT connectors connected to the switching matrix, two of the MRT connectors are connectable or connected to the same local coil.

26. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the antenna elements is connectable to any one of the receivers by the switching matrix, wherein each of the antenna elements is always connected to precisely one of the receivers at any point in time.

27. The system of claim 1, wherein the antenna elements are connected to one of the receivers by the switching matrix, wherein transmission therebetween is provided by frequency-division multiplexing, time-division multiplexing, or code-division multiplexing of signals of a plurality of antenna elements on a common transmission path.