Flexible surface coils for use in nuclear magnetic resonance imaging
First Claim
1. A coil assembly for detecting electromagnetic radiation emitted from a patient, comprising:
- a flexible outer body portion which conforms to the contours of an area of the patient'"'"'s anatomy and is permeable to electromagnetic radiation emitted from the patient;
a flexible coil disposed within said flexible outer body portion for receiving electromagnetic radiation emitted from the patient, said flexible coil also conforming to the contours of said area of the patient'"'"'s anatomy;
means for holding said flexible outer body portion and coil against said area of the patient'"'"'s anatomy; and
means for connecting said coil through said flexible outer body portion so as to relay a signal representing received electromagnetic radiation to an exterior of said flexible outer body portion,wherein said flexible outer body portion has a shape which conforms to a patient'"'"'s neck region, and comprises a pair of flexible half shells connected by a hinge so as to accommodate patients having necks of different sizes.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Flexible, conforming surface coils for use in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging are disclosed. The coils comprise a flexible outer body with antennas disposed within the body. The coils closely adopt the contours and shapes of the particular part of the patient'"'"'s body under observation and provide considerable comfort. Since the coils closely conform to the patient, detection of artifacts and aliasing is minimized thus providing highly resolved images of the area of the patient that is being examined. The coils are readily utilized with preexisting NMR magnets and support equipment thereby allowing efficient and cost effective NMR imaging.
117 Citations
13 Claims
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1. A coil assembly for detecting electromagnetic radiation emitted from a patient, comprising:
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a flexible outer body portion which conforms to the contours of an area of the patient'"'"'s anatomy and is permeable to electromagnetic radiation emitted from the patient; a flexible coil disposed within said flexible outer body portion for receiving electromagnetic radiation emitted from the patient, said flexible coil also conforming to the contours of said area of the patient'"'"'s anatomy; means for holding said flexible outer body portion and coil against said area of the patient'"'"'s anatomy; and means for connecting said coil through said flexible outer body portion so as to relay a signal representing received electromagnetic radiation to an exterior of said flexible outer body portion, wherein said flexible outer body portion has a shape which conforms to a patient'"'"'s neck region, and comprises a pair of flexible half shells connected by a hinge so as to accommodate patients having necks of different sizes. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A coil assembly for detecting electromagnetic radiation emitted from a patient, comprising:
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a flexible outer body portion which conforms to the contours of the neck of a patient and is permeable to electromagnetic radiation emitted from the patent; a flexible coil disposed within said flexible outer body portion for receiving electromagnetic radiation emitted from the neck of the patient, said flexible coil also conforming to the contours of the neck of the patient; means for holding said flexible outer body portion and coil about the neck of the patient; and means for connecting said coil through said flexible outer body portion so as to relay a signal representing received electromagnetic radiation to an exterior of said flexible outer body portion; wherein said flexible outer body portion comprises a pair of flexible half shells connected by a hinge so as to accommodate patients having necks of different sizes. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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Specification