Apparatus and method for decoupling MR coils

• US 8,258,789 B2
• Filed: 12/21/2009
• Issued: 09/04/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: General Electric Company
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Boskamp, Eddy Benjamin
• Primary Examiner(s): Koval, Melissa
• Assistant Examiner(s): Miller, Daniel
• Application Number:
  US12/643,248
• Publication Number:
  US 20110148415A1
• Time in Patent Office: 988 Days
• Field of Search: 324300-322
• US Class Current: 324/318
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/34007 Manufacture of RF coils, e.g. using printed circuit board technology; additional hardware for providing mechanical support to the RF coil assembly or to part thereof, e.g. a support for moving the coil assembly relative to the remainder of the MR system
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/3415 comprising arrays of sub-coils , i.e. phased-array coils with flexible receiver channels
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/365 Decoupling of multiple RF coils wherein the multiple RF coils have the same function in MR, e.g. decoupling of a receive coil from another receive coil in a receive coil array, decoupling of a transmission coil from another transmission coil in a transmission coil array

Abstract

An apparatus includes a first RF coil integrated into a first printed circuit board (PCB) and a second RF coil integrated into the first PCB. The apparatus also includes a tuning member positioned adjacently to the first PCB and inductively coupled to the first and second RF coils, the tuning member configured to minimize a mutual inductance formed between the first and second RF coils via modification of a coupling constant between the first and second RF coils.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a first RF coil integrated into a first printed circuit board (PCB);

a second RF coil integrated into the first PCB; and

an adjustable tuning member positioned adjacently to the first PCB and inductively coupled to the first and second RF coils, the adjustable tuning member configured to minimize a mutual inductance formed between the first and second RF coils via modification of a coupling constant between the first and second RF coils, wherein the adjustable tuning member comprises an electrically conductive material integrated into a second PCB, and wherein the second PCB is adjustably affixed to the first PCB such that the second PCB can be rotated or translated with respect to the first PCB to position the adjustable tuning member adjacently to a region between the first and second RF coils so as to minimize the mutual inductance between the first and second RF coils.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the electrically conductive material is formed into a loop.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the loop comprises a plurality of turns formed on multiple layers of the second PCB.

4. The apparatus of claim 2 further comprising a capacitor coupled in series with the loop.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the tuning member comprises a layer of copper foil.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the tuning member is configured to reduce a coupling of the first and second RF coils.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the tuning member is configured to increase a coupling of the first and second RF coils.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the tuning member is positioned adjacently to the transformer.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the tuning member overlaps a portion of the transformer.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a transformer integrated into the first PCB between the first and second RF coils, the transformer comprising:

a first winding coupled in series with the first RF coil; and

a second winding coupled in series with the second RF coil.

11. A method comprising:

forming a first RF coil in a first primed circuit board (PCB);

forming a second RF coil in the first PCB;

forming an adjustable inductive member, wherein forming the adjustable inductive member comprises forming the adjustable inductive member on a second PCB that is adjustably affixed to the first PCB;

rotating or translating the second PCB with respect to the first PCB to position the adjustable inductive member adjacently to a region between the first and second RF coils such that the adjustable inductive member is inductively coupled to the first and second RF coils and such that the adjustable inductive member minimizes a mutual inductance between the first and second RF coils; and

affixing the second PCB to the first PCB at a position for which mutual inductance between the first and second RF coils is minimized.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising:

forming a first transformer winding in the first PCB and in the region between the first and second RF coils, the first transformer winding serially coupled to the first RF coil;

forming a second transformer winding in the first PCB and in the region between the first and second RF coils, the second transformer winding serially coupled to the second RF coil and overlapping the first transformer winding, wherein the first and second transformer windings form a transformer;

wherein positioning the inductive member adjacently to the region between the first and second RF coils comprises positioning the inductive member adjacently to the transformer; and

tuning the inductive coupling of the first and second RF coils to vary an amount of overlap between the inductive member and the transformer such that an inductive coupling of the first and second RF coils is substantially eliminated.

13. An apparatus comprising:

a first plurality of RF coils formed onto a first printed circuit board (PCB), each coil of the first plurality of RF coils overlapping another coil of the first plurality of RF coils in a first overlapping direction;

a second plurality of RF coils formed onto the first PCB, each coil of the second plurality of RF coils overlapping another coil of the second plurality of RF coils in the first overlapping direction, wherein the second plurality of RF coils is adjacent to the first plurality of RF coils, and wherein the second plurality of RF coils is underlapped from the first plurality of RF coils in a second direction orthogonal to the first overlapping direction; and

a first plurality of adjustable tuning members, each adjustable tuning member formed onto a distinct PCB and configured to reduce a coupling of a first respective pair of coils via an inductive coupling with each coil of the first respective pair of coils, wherein each first respective pair of coils comprises;

a coil of the first plurality of RF coils; and

a neighboring coil of the second plurality of RF coils;

wherein each distinct PCB is adjustably affixed to the first PCB such that the each distinct PCB can be rotated or translated with respect to the first PCB to position the corresponding adjustable tuning member adjacently to a region between the corresponding first respective pair of coils so as to reduce the coupling of the first respective pair of coils.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 further comprising:

a plurality of transformers coupled to the first and second plurality of RF coils, each of the first respective pair of coils coupled to a respective transformer of the plurality of transformers, wherein each transformer is formed onto the PCB and comprises;

a first winding serially coupled with one of the first respective pairs of coils; and

a second winding serially coupled with the other of the first respective pairs of coils, wherein the first and second windings overlap each other.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein each tuning member of the first plurality of tuning members is positioned adjacently to a respective transformer of the plurality of transformers.

16. The apparatus of claim 13 further comprising a second plurality of tuning members, each tuning member of the second plurality of tuning members configured to reduce a coupling of a second respective pair of coils via an inductive coupling with each coil of the second respective pair of coils, wherein each second respective pair of coils comprises:

a first coil of one of the first and second plurality of RF coils; and

a second coil of the one of the first and second plurality of RF coils, were the first and second coils overlap.