Magnetic resonance imaging receiver/transmitter coils
First Claim
1. A magnetic resonance imaging coil system for forming images of regions of interest, comprising,:
- at least one first phased array coil element formed of a plurality of electrically conductive members and defining a first array volume;
at least one extension element operably associated with said at least one first phased array coil element for extending said at least one first phased array coil element to define a further array volume;
at least one second phased array coil element formed of a second plurality of electrically conductive members and defining a second array volume, said at least one second phased array coil element disposed at least partially within said first and further array volumes;
said at least one first phased array coil element and said at least one extension element being adapted to apply a first magnetic field to at least said first and further array volumes; and
said at least one first and second phased array coil elements being further adapted to receive a second magnetic field generated by a subject in response to said first magnetic field.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A magnetic resonance imaging receiver/transmitter coil system for providing images for regions of interest includes a first phased array formed of a plurality of electrically conductive members and defining an array volume and a second phased array formed of a second plurality of electrically conductive members and disposed at least partially within the defined array volume. At least one of the first and second phased arrays is adapted to apply a magnetic field to the defined array volume. At least one of the first and second phased arrays is further adapted to receive said applied magnetic field. The first phased array is extendible to define a further array volume and is provided with a switch for electrically coupling and decoupling an extension to effectively extend the length of the first phased array and thereby define the further array volume. In this manner the length of the first phased array is effectively extended to approximately twice its unextended length.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. A magnetic resonance imaging coil system for forming images of regions of interest, comprising,:
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at least one first phased array coil element formed of a plurality of electrically conductive members and defining a first array volume; at least one extension element operably associated with said at least one first phased array coil element for extending said at least one first phased array coil element to define a further array volume; at least one second phased array coil element formed of a second plurality of electrically conductive members and defining a second array volume, said at least one second phased array coil element disposed at least partially within said first and further array volumes; said at least one first phased array coil element and said at least one extension element being adapted to apply a first magnetic field to at least said first and further array volumes; and said at least one first and second phased array coil elements being further adapted to receive a second magnetic field generated by a subject in response to said first magnetic field. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method for forming magnetic resonance images of regions of interest, the method comprising:
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providing at least one first phased array coil element defining a first array volume; providing at least one extension element operably associated with the at least one first phased array coil element for extending the at least one first phased array coil element to define a further array volume; providing at least one second phased array coil element defining a second array volume, the at least one second phased array coil element disposed at least partially within the first and further array volumes; extending the at least one first phased array coil element using the at least one extension element; applying a first magnetic field to the first and further array volumes using the at least one first phased array coil element and the at least one extension element; and receiving a second magnetic field generated by a subject in response to the first magnetic field using the at least one first and second phased array coil elements. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A magnetic resonance imaging coil system for forming images of regions of interest, comprising:
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at least one first phased array coil element formed of a plurality of electrically conductive members and defining a first array volume, said at least one first phased array coil element being electrically adapted to extend its length during the application of a first magnetic field to define a further array volume; at least one second phased array coil element formed of a second plurality of electrically conductive members and defining a second array volume, said at least one second phased array coil element disposed at least partially within the first and further array volumes; said at least one first phased array coil element being adapted to apply the first magnetic field to at least the first and further array volumes; and said at least one first and second phased array coil elements being further adapted to receive a second magnetic field generated by a subject in response to said first magnetic field.
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Specification