MR method utilizing microcoils situated in the examination zone

• US 6,397,094 B1
• Filed: 01/08/1999
• Issued: 05/28/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 01/09/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Ludeke, Kai-Michael, Rasche, Volker
• Primary Examiner(s): Lateef, Marvin M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): SHAW, SHAWNA JEANNINE
• Application Number:
  US09/227,465
• Time in Patent Office: 1,236 Days
• Field of Search: 600/411,412,419,420,423,424 324/306,318,309 120/899
• US Class Current: 600/411
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/285 Invasive instruments, e.g. catheters or biopsy needles, specially adapted for tracking, guiding or visualization by NMR
• 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 33/3642 Mutual coupling or decoupling of multiple coils, e.g. decoupling of a receive coil from a transmission coil, or intentional coupling of RF coils, e.g. for RF magnetic field amplification

Abstract

The invention relates to an MR method which utilizes a microcoil without connection leads which causes an increase of or a change in phase of an external RF magnetic field in its direct vicinity within an object to be examined. This increase can be used to localize the coil, to image the direct vicinity, or to track the propagation of a liquid flow passing through the direct vicinity.

Claims

1. An MR method comprising:

exciting nuclear magnetization in an object to be examined and present in an examination zone by at least one magnetic RF pulse having a central frequency,

receiving MR signals subsequently by an MR coil,

forming at least one MR image, and

introducing at least one microcoil, tuned to the central frequency, into the object to be examined, wherein the microcoil has no connection leads, and wherein the MR signals are processed in such a manner that the local variation, induced by the microcoil, of the magnetic field which occurs in the object to be examined due to the RF pulses becomes visible in the MR image.

2. An MR method as claimed in claim 1, wherein a phase image which represents the spatial distribution of the phase of the nuclear magnetization is generated as the MR image.

3. An MR method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the microcoil comprises a plurality of spatially separated segments of different orientation.

4. An MR method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the microcoil is attached to a medical instrument introduced into the object to be examined.

5. An MR method as claimed in claim 1, wherein each MR image is generated at a temporal distances which differ from said image of each preceding RF pulse in a flow direction in order to facilitate flux visualization.

6. An MR method as claimed in claim 5, wherein a plurality of MR images are generated, each of which represents a respective projection of the nuclear magnetization perpendicular to the flow direction.

7. An MR method as claimed in claim 1, wherein she microcoil introduced into the object serves to excite an object area to be imaged.

8. An MR method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the microcoil is used additionally for the local heating of the object to be examined.

9. An MR device comprising:

a magnet for generating a uniform, steady main magnetic field in an examination zone,

an RF coil system for generating magnetic RF pulses and for receiving MR signals from an object to be examined which is present in the examination zone,

a microcoil having no connection leads and introduced into the object, and

an image reconstruction unit for the reconstruction of MR images, so that the MR signals are processed in such a manner that local variation, induced by the microcoil without connection leads, of the magnetic field which occurs in the object to be examined due to the RF pulses becomes visible in the MR image.