Ceramic camera for MRI
First Claim
1. A camera comprising:
- an optical path mount integrally formed with an imager mounting surface and a lens mounting surface, the optical path mount having a mass at least twice as great as that of the imager and lens, a modulus of elasticity of at least 2 giga-Pascals, and resistivity of at least 106 Ohm-centimeters;
an imager directly mounted to the imager mounting surface; and
a lens directly mounted to the lens mounting surface.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A camera assembly for use in a MRI machine. The camera assembly includes a Faraday cage defining a shielded cavity and an optical path mount constructed of a highly stiff, dense, and non-electrically-conductive material in the shielded cavity. The camera imager and lens are mounted to the optical path mount. The camera assembly includes a capacitor-based power regulation circuit. The optical path mount is not subject to eddy currents because it is non-electrically-conductive. The capacitor-based power regulation circuit includes very little ferrous material and is within the shielded cavity, to reduce eddy currents. The resulting camera assembly reduces vibrations and shaking in the magnetic field environment of the MRI machine.
19 Citations
18 Claims
-
1. A camera comprising:
-
an optical path mount integrally formed with an imager mounting surface and a lens mounting surface, the optical path mount having a mass at least twice as great as that of the imager and lens, a modulus of elasticity of at least 2 giga-Pascals, and resistivity of at least 106 Ohm-centimeters; an imager directly mounted to the imager mounting surface; and a lens directly mounted to the lens mounting surface. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
-
-
10. A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) apparatus, comprising:
-
a MRI scanner for accommodating a patient; a magnet generating a magnetic field, gradient coils generating dynamic magnetic field gradients within the MRI scanner; radio-frequency (RF) coils generating RF energy within the MRI scanner; a camera assembly including a Faraday cage defining a shielded cavity, an imager, a lens, and an optical path mount constructed of a material with mass at least twice as great as the combined mass of the imager and lens, the optical path mount having a modulus of elasticity of at least 2 giga-Pascals and resistivity of at least 106 Ohm-centimeters, the optical path mount being positioned within the shielded cavity, the imager and lens being mounted to the optical path mount within the shielded cavity; and a mounting assembly for mounting the camera assembly within the MRI scanner; wherein the Faraday cage includes an aperture through which the camera lens receives images of the patient within the MRI scanner; and wherein the Faraday cage shields all elements within the shielded volume from the RF energy generated by the RF coils. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
-
-
18. A camera assembly comprising:
-
a Faraday cage defining a shielded cavity; an imager; a lens; an optical path mount having a mass at least twice as great as that of the combined imager and lens, a modulus of elasticity of at least 2 giga-Pascals and a resistivity of at least 106 Ohm-centimeters in the shielded cavity, the imager and lens being mounted to the optical path mount; and a power regulation circuit providing power for operation of the camera assembly; wherein the Faraday cage includes an aperture through which the camera lens receives images of the patient within the MRI scanner; and wherein the Faraday cage shields all elements within the shielded volume from RF energy surrounding the Faraday cage.
-
Specification