Mammography antenna arrangement for NMR examinations of a female breast

• US 5,602,557 A
• Filed: 09/27/1995
• Issued: 02/11/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Siemens AG
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Duerr, Wilhelm
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Hoanganh T.
• Application Number:
  US08/534,882
• Time in Patent Office: 503 Days
• Field of Search: 343/742, 343/741, 343/866, 343/867, 324/318, 324/309, 324/322, 324/316, 324/311, 128/653.5, 128/653.1
• US Class Current: 343/742
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/34046 Volume type coils, e.g. bird-cage coils; Quadrature bird-cage coils; Circularly polarised coils
• 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 33/3415 comprising arrays of sub-coils , i.e. phased-array coils with flexible receiver channels
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/3628 Tuning/matching of the transmit/receive coil

Abstract

A mammography antenna arrangement for magnetic resonance examinations of the female breast has first and second conductor loop pairs, each of which is formed by two saddle-shaped conductor loops lying opposite one another and between which an essentially cylindrical examination space, having a receptacle opening, is located. The two conductor loop pairs are rotationally offset by 90° relative to one another in the circumferential direction. A capacitive element is connected in a part of each conductor loop that faces away from the receptacle opening.

Claims

1. A mammography antenna arrangement for magnetic resonance examination of a female breast, said antenna arrangement comprising:

first and second saddle-shaped conductor loops disposed opposite each other and forming a first conductor loop pair;

third and fourth saddle-shaped conductor loops disposed opposite each other and forming a second conductor loop pair;

said first and second conductor loop pairs being disposed relative to each other rotationally offset by approximately 90°

in a circumferential direction and forming a substantially cylindrical examination space having an upper receptacle opening adapted for receiving a female breast, and each of said first, second, third and fourth saddle-shaped conductor loops having a conductor loop portion facing away from said receptacle opening; and

a plurality of capacitive elements respectively disposed in said conductor loop portions of said first, second, third and fourth saddle-shaped conductor loops.

2. A mammography antenna arrangement as claimed in claim 1 wherein said first and second conductor loop pairs are disposed with adjacent saddle-shaped conductor loops overlapping in said circumferential direction.

3. A mammography antenna arrangement as claimed in claim 1 wherein the conductor loop portion of each saddle-shaped conductor loop comprises a middle portion of that saddle-shaped conductor loop.

4. A mammography antenna arrangement as claimed in claim 3 wherein the respective capacitive elements in said first and second saddle-shaped conductor loops are connected in parallel, and wherein the respective capacitive elements in said third and fourth saddle-shaped conductor loops are connected in parallel.

5. A mammography antenna arrangement as claimed in claim 1 wherein one of said saddle-shaped conductor loops comprises a distended portion at a region thereof facing toward said receptacle opening, said distended portion enlarging said one of said saddle-shaped conductor loops laterally from said receptacle opening and away from said examination space.

6. A mammography antenna arrangement as claimed in claim 5 wherein said distended portion is symmetrical relative to said one of said saddle-shaped conductor loops.

7. A mammography antenna arrangement as claimed in claim 5 further comprising a further capacitive element connected in a middle of said distended portion.