System and method for electrically contacting local coils with a signal processor remote therefrom in a magnetic resonance scanner

• US 7,990,147 B2
• Filed: 06/18/2009
• Issued: 08/02/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/18/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Siemens Healthcare GMBH (Siemens AG)
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Driemel, Daniel, Heid, Oliver, Kundner, Thomas
• Primary Examiner(s): Shrivastav; Brij B
• Application Number:
  US12/486,934
• Publication Number:
  US 20090315556A1
• Time in Patent Office: 775 Days
• Field of Search: 324300-322, 600407-445
• US Class Current: 324/318
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/3415 comprising arrays of sub-coils , i.e. phased-array coils with flexible receiver channels
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/36 Electrical details, e.g. matching or coupling of the coil to the receiver
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/56375 Intentional motion of the sample during MR, e.g. moving table imaging
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/56383 involving motion of the sample as a whole, e.g. multistation MR or MR with continuous table motion

Abstract

In a contacting system and method for contacting magnetic resonance local coils with a unit for additional signal processing of a magnetic resonance data acquisition unit, a number of coil coupler elements are electrically connected with the magnetic resonance local coils and apparatus coupler elements are mounted at the magnetic resonance tomograph, and are electrically connected with a unit for signal processing. The coil coupler elements and the apparatus coupler elements are fashioned so that, given a movement of the local coils along a movement path in the magnetic resonance data acquisition unit, a successive contacting of at least a portion of the coil coupler elements with apparatus coupler elements ensues at least over a specific path segment of the movement.

Claims

1. A magnetic resonance apparatus comprising:

a magnetic resonance data acquisition unit configured to acquire magnetic resonance data from an examination subject interacting with the magnetic resonance data acquisition unit;

a plurality of local coils in said magnetic resonance data acquisition unit that participate in said acquisition of magnetic resonance data by transmitting radio frequency signals into, and/or receiving magnetic resonance signals from, the examination subject;

each of said magnetic resonance local coils having a coil coupler element electrically connected thereto and mounted in said magnetic resonance data acquisition unit;

a signal processor in said magnetic resonance data acquisition unit remote from said local coils;

a plurality of apparatus coupler elements mounted in said magnetic resonance data acquisition unit that are electrically connected to said signal processing unit;

a moveable element, on which said local coils are carried, that moves in a movement path in said magnetic resonance data acquisition unit; and

said coil coupler elements being disposed on said moveable element, and said apparatus coupler elements being disposed in said magnetic resonance data acquisition unit, to cause at least some of said coil coupler elements to successively couple, for signal transmission, at least some of said apparatus coupler elements at least within a segment of said movement path.

2. A magnetic resonance apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said moveable element is a positioning device configured to position said subject in said magnetic resonance data acquisition unit.

3. A magnetic resonance apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said magnetic resonance data acquisition unit has a data acquisition region therein, and wherein said apparatus coupler elements are disposed relative to said coil coupler elements to cause said at least some of said coil coupler elements that are coupled with said at least some of said apparatus coupler elements in said segment to be coil coupler elements that are connected to respective local coils that are currently in said data acquisition region.

4. A magnetic resonance apparatus as claimed in claim 3 wherein said coil coupler elements and said apparatus coupler elements are disposed relative to each other to cause respective coil coupler elements to coupled respective apparatus coupler elements immediately preceding entry of the local coil connected to that coil coupler element into said acquisition region.

5. A magnetic resonance apparatus as claimed in claim 3 wherein said coupler elements and said apparatus coupler elements are disposed relative to each other to disconnect coupling of a respective coil coupler element with a respective apparatus coupler element immediately upon the local coil connected to that respective coil coupler element exiting said acquisition region.

6. A magnetic resonance apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein each of said coil coupler elements and the respective local coil connected thereto lie on a vertical line proceeding perpendicularly to said movement path.

7. A magnetic resonance apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said coil coupler elements and said apparatus coupler elements are configured to produce said coupling in a manner selected from the group consisting of galvanic contacting, capacitive coupling and inductive coupling.

8. A magnetic resonance apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said coil coupler elements and said apparatus coupler elements respectively comprise capacitor plates operating in parallel to form a capacitor group, with the capacitor plate of each coil coupler element and the capacitor plate of an oppositely situated apparatus coupler element forming a capacitor in said capacitor group, the capacitors in the respective capacitor groups being located relative to each other to cause a capacitor change of a capacitor in the capacitor group, produced by movement of said moveable element, is compensated by another capacitor change of at least one other capacitor in the same capacitor group.

9. A magnetic resonance apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said moveable element is mounted on rollers for movement along said movement path in said magnetic resonance data acquisition unit.

10. A magnetic resonance apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein either said coil coupler elements or said apparatus coupler elements are integrated to a belt as said moveable element.

11. A magnetic resonance apparatus as claimed in claim 10 wherein said belt is formed as a flexible circuit board.

12. A magnetic resonance apparatus as claimed in claim 11 wherein said flexible circuit board is comprised of a plurality of circuit board segments.

13. A magnetic resonance apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein either said apparatus coupler elements or said coil coupler elements are mounted in a guide recess in which said moveable element moves in said movement path, and wherein the other of said apparatus coupler elements or said coil coupler elements are mounted on a sliding guide element that moves in said guide recess with said moveable element.

14. A magnetic resonance apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said apparatus coupler elements are resilient contact elements that, press onto respective coil coupler elements during movement of said moveable element in said movement path.

15. A magnetic resonance apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein multiple ones of said apparatus coupler elements are connected to preamplifiers.

16. A magnetic resonance apparatus as claimed in claim 15 comprising a plurality of switches that switch said preamplifiers among said apparatus coupler elements.

18. A method as claimed in claim 16 comprising continuously moving said local coils together with said coil coupler elements in said magnetic resonance data acquisition unit.

17. A method for operating a magnetic resonance apparatus comprising the steps of:

operating a magnetic resonance data acquisition unit configured to acquire magnetic resonance data from an examination subject interacting with the magnetic resonance data acquisition unit, using a plurality of local coils in said magnetic resonance data acquisition unit that participate in said acquisition of magnetic resonance data to transmit radio frequency signals into, and/or receive magnetic resonance signals from, the examination subject;

providing each of said magnetic resonance local coils with a coil coupler element electrically connected thereto and mounted in said magnetic resonance data acquisition unit;

electrically connecting a plurality of apparatus coupler elements mounted in said magnetic resonance data acquisition unit to a signal processing unit remotely located in said magnetic resonance data acquisition unit from said local coils;

moving said local coils in a movement path in said magnetic resonance data acquisition unit; and

disposing said coil coupler elements on said moveable element, and disposing said apparatus coupler elements in said magnetic resonance data acquisition unit to cause at least some of said coil coupler elements to successively couple, for signal transmission, at least some of said apparatus coupler elements at least within a segment of said movement path.

19. A method as claimed in claim 17 comprising continuously moving said apparatus coupler elements in said magnetic resonance data acquisition unit.

20. A method as claimed in claim 17 comprising moving both said local coil elements and said apparatus coupler elements relative to each other.

21. A method as claimed in claim 17 comprising moving said coil coupler elements and said apparatus coupler elements with each other uniformly.

22. A method as claimed in claim 17 comprising producing said coupling in a manner selected from the group consisting of galvanic contacting, capacitive coupling and inductive coupling.