Nuclear quadrupole resonance measurements
First Claim
1. An apparatus for exciting and detecting NQR in a substance containing quadrupole nuclei responsive to the NQR phenomenon, comprising:
- An irradiator to irradiate an item that may contain a substance with RF waves to excite NQR in quadrupole nuclei within the substance and to receive an NQR signal emitted in response thereto;
a transmitter to produce and transmit an RF pulse to the irradiator to create said RF waves;
a receiver to receive and treat a received signal from said irradiator for subsequent processing and detection of a said NQR signal therein;
a sensor to sense an extraneous parameter or parameters that may influence the detection of the NQR signal from the item to be irradiated prior to operation of the transmitter and to generate a sensor signal corresponding to the extraneous parameter or parameters sensed; and
a processor to process the sensor signal to control the operation of the transmitter depending on the sensor signal prior to creating said RF waves, and to control the operation of the receiver, to facilitate the excitation and detection of an NQR signal, and to process the treated received signal to identify an NQR signal therein.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus for exciting and detecting NQR in a substance containing quadrupole nuclei responsive to the NQR phenomenon. The apparatus includes a coil 15 for irradiating an item that may contain a substance with RF waves to excite NQR in quadrupole nuclei within the substance and for receiving an NQR signal emitted in response thereto. A transmitter unit 10 is provided for producing and transmitting an RF pulse to the probe to create said RF waves. A receiver unit 11 is provided to receive and treat a received signal from said probe for subsequent processing and detection of a said NQR signal therein. A sensing means is included in the apparatus for sensing an extraneous parameter that may influence the detection of the NQR signal from the item to be scanned. A computer 12 is provided for processing the treated received signal to identify a said NQR signal therein, and control the transmitting means and the receiving means in response to said processing means and said sensing means to optimize the excitation and detection of the NQR signal. The sensing means may comprise one or more temperature probes 13, RF antennas 17, metal detectors 18, metal imagers 19, temperature tags 20 and optical or infrared scanners 22 and 23, or any one or combination of these.
29 Citations
46 Claims
-
1. An apparatus for exciting and detecting NQR in a substance containing quadrupole nuclei responsive to the NQR phenomenon, comprising:
-
An irradiator to irradiate an item that may contain a substance with RF waves to excite NQR in quadrupole nuclei within the substance and to receive an NQR signal emitted in response thereto; a transmitter to produce and transmit an RF pulse to the irradiator to create said RF waves; a receiver to receive and treat a received signal from said irradiator for subsequent processing and detection of a said NQR signal therein; a sensor to sense an extraneous parameter or parameters that may influence the detection of the NQR signal from the item to be irradiated prior to operation of the transmitter and to generate a sensor signal corresponding to the extraneous parameter or parameters sensed; and a processor to process the sensor signal to control the operation of the transmitter depending on the sensor signal prior to creating said RF waves, and to control the operation of the receiver, to facilitate the excitation and detection of an NQR signal, and to process the treated received signal to identify an NQR signal therein. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
-
-
24. A method of exciting and detecting NQR in a substance containing quadrupole nuclei responsive to the NQR phenomenon, the method comprising the steps of:
-
irradiating an item that may contain a substance with RF waves to excite NQR in quadrupole nuclei within the substance and receiving an NQR signal emitted in response thereto; producing and transmitting an RF pulse to create said RF waves; receiving and treating a received signal for subsequent processing and detection of a said NQR signal therein; sensing an extraneous parameter or parameters that may influence the detection of the NQR signal from the item to be irradiated prior to the transmission and generating a sensor signal corresponding to the extraneous parameter or parameters sensed; and processing the sensor signal to control the transmission of the RF pulse in dependence upon the sensor signal prior to creating said RF waves, and controlling the receiving and treating of the received signal, to facilitate the excitation and detection of an NQR signal, and processing the treated received signal to identify an NQR signal therein. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45)
-
-
46. An apparatus for exciting and detecting NQR in a substance containing quadrupole nuclei responsive to the NQR phenomenon, comprising:
-
means for irradiating an item that may contain a substance with RF waves to excite NQR in quadrupole nuclei within the substance and to receive an NQR signal emitted in response thereto; means for producing and transmitting an RF pulse to the irradiating means to create said RF waves; means for receiving and treating a received signal from said irradiating means for subsequent processing and detection of a said NQR signal therein; means for sensing an extraneous parameter or parameters that may influence the detection of the NQR signal from the item to be irradiated prior to operation of the transmitting means and to generate a sensor signal corresponding to the extraneous parameter or parameters sensed; and means for processing the sensor signal to control the operation of the transmitting means depending on the sensor signal prior to creating said RF waves, and to control the operation of the receiving means, to facilitate the excitation and detection of an NQR signal, and to process the treated received signal to identify an NQR signal therein.
-
Specification