RF transmission circuit, complex digital synthesizer, and MRI apparatus

• US 6,862,435 B2
• Filed: 07/03/2002
• Issued: 03/01/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 07/04/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: GE Medical Systems Global Technology Company LLC (GE Healthcare Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: GE Medical Systems Global Technology Company LLC (GE Healthcare Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Kinomoto, Masakazu, Miyano, Hiroyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Vuong, Quochien B.
• Application Number:
  US10/188,451
• Publication Number:
  US 20030008626A1
• Time in Patent Office: 972 Days
• Field of Search: 455/91, 455/114.1, 455/114.2, 455/114.3, 455/115.1, 455/127.1, 455/127.2, 455/118, 455/119, 375/130, 375/140, 375/145, 375/149, 375/293, 375/295, 375/354, 375/356, 375/358, 375/362, 327/100, 327/105, 327/106, 327/107, 327/113, 327/119, 708/271, 708/272
• US Class Current: 455/114.1
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/3607 RF waveform generators, e.g. frequency generators, amplitude-, frequency- or phase modulators or shifters, pulse programmers, digital to analog converters for the RF signal, means for filtering or attenuating of the RF signal

Abstract

An RF transmission circuit, complex digital synthesizer and MRI apparatus are intended to enhance the stability of signal quantity and reduce the cost, wherein a complex digital synthesizer generates reference carrier frequency signal data directly in the digital domain, RF envelope mixers combine the resulting data and RF envelope signal data in the digital domain, and a digital frequency up-converter up-converts the resulting signal data in the digital domain and converts into an analog RF pulse signal.

Claims

1. An RF transmission circuit comprising:

a system interface which receives control data from outside;

a complex digital synthesizer which releases a reference carrier frequency signal in accordance with the command from said system interface;

an RF envelope mixer which combines the reference carrier frequency signal and an RF envelope waveform signal and releases a resulting reference RF pulse signal in the complex form;

a digital frequency up-converter which up-converts the carrier frequency of the reference RF pulse signal to a resonant frequency necessary at an intended static magnetic field strength and converts the resulting signal into an analog RF pulse signal; and

an analog rousing circuit which filters out alias harmonics emerging in the analog RF pulse signal and adjusts the amplitude of the resulting signal.

2. An RF transmission circuit set forth in claim 1, further including a digital attenuator which adjusts the amplitude of the RF envelope waveform signal in accordance with the command of said system interface.

3. An RF transmission circuit set forth in claim 1, further including a resonant frequency adjusting controller which alters in accordance with the command of said system interface the resonant frequency to be up-converted by said digital frequency up-converter.

4. An RF transmission circuit set forth in claim 1, having a system clock frequency of 40 MHz or higher.

5. An RF transmission circuit set forth in claim 1, wherein said complex digital synthesizer has an operational clock frequency of 40 MHz or higher.

6. An RF transmission circuit set forth in claim 1, wherein the operational clock frequency of said digital frequency up-converter is 40 MHz or higher.

7. An RF transmission circuit set forth in claim 6, wherein said digital frequency up-converter has an operational clock frequency of 160 MHz or higher.

8. An RF transmission circuit set forth in claim 1, wherein said system interface provides said complex digital synthesizer with data which determines the center frequency of the reference carrier frequency signal, data which offsets the center frequency of the actual reference carrier frequency signal from said center frequency, and data which determines the initial phase of the reference carrier frequency with respect to the RF envelope waveform.

9. An RF transmission circuit set forth in claim 8, wherein said complex digital synthesizer comprises:

a center frequency accumulator for calculating by summing cumulatively data which determines the center frequency of the reference carrier frequency signal;

an offset frequency accumulator for calculating by summing cumulatively data which offsets the center frequency of the actual reference carrier frequency signal from said center frequency;

an initial phase register for holding data which determines the initial phase of the reference carrier frequency with respect to the RF envelope waveform;

an adder which adds the outputs from said center frequency accumulator, said offset frequency accumulator, and said initial phase register;

a cosine lookup table which has a record of cosine waveform data, and reads out cosine waveform data by being addressed by data resulting from the summation by said adder and releases as inphase component data; and

a sine lookup table which has a record of sine waveform data, and reads out sine waveform data by being addressed by data resulting from the summation by said adder and releases as quadrature component data.

10. An RF transmission circuit set forth in any of claim 1, wherein said digital frequency up-converter comprises a complex interpolation filter which implements an interpolation process and filtering process for inphase component data and quadrature component data and releases resulting inphase component data and quadrature component data having a raised data sampling rate;

a complex digital synthesizer which generates inphase component data and quadrature component data of a mixing signal;

up-convert mixers which combine the inphase component data and quadrature component data having the raised data sampling rate and the mixing signal thereby to produce and release inphase component data and quadrature component data having a raised carrier frequency;

an adder which combines the inphase component data and quadrature component data having the raised carrier frequency and releases a resulting digital RF pulse signal; and

a D/A converter which converts the digital RF pulse signal into an analog RF pulse signal.

11. An RF transmission circuit set forth in claim 10, wherein said digital frequency up-converter includes a PLL synthesizer which produces for said digital frequency up-converter an operational clock signal, which is higher in frequency than the system clock signal, from the system clock signal.

12. An RF transmission circuit set forth in claim 1, wherein said analog rousing circuit comprises a low-pass filter which eliminates the alias harmonics from the analog RF pulse signal;

a programmable-gain amplifier which adjusts the amplitude of the analog RF pulse signal; and

a send/receive selector switch.

13. An MRI apparatus including an RF transmission circuit, said RF transmission circuit comprising:

a system interface which receives control data from outside;

a complex digital synthesizer which releases a reference carrier frequency signal in accordance with the command from said system interface;

an RF envelope mixer which combines the reference carrier frequency signal and an RF envelope waveform signal and releases a resulting reference RF pulse signal in the complex from;

a digital frequency up-converter which up-converts the carrier frequency of the reference RF pulse signal to a resonant frequency necessary at an intended static magnetic field strength and converts the resulting signal into an analog RF pulse signal; and

an analog rousing circuit filters out alias harmonics emerging in the analog RF pulse signal and adjusts the amplitude of the resulting signal.

14. A complex digital synthesizer comprising:

a center frequency accumulator for calculating by summing cumulatively data which determines the center frequency of a reference carrier frequency signal;

an offset frequency accumulator for calculating by summing cumulatively data which offsets the center frequency of the actual reference carrier frequency signal from said center frequency;

an initial phase register for holding data which determines the initial phase of the reference carrier frequency with respect to the RF envelope waveform;

an adder which adds a center frequency accumulator output,an offset frequency accumulator output, and an initial phase register output;

a cosine lookup table which has a record of cosine waveform data, and reads out cosine waveform data by being addressed by data resulting from the summation by said adder and releases as inphase component data; and

a sine lookup table which has a record of sine waveform data, and reads out sine waveform data by being addressed by data resulting from the summation by said adder and releases as quadrature component data.