Patent ID: 9066673
Filing Date: 2015-06-30
Classification: A61B

Abstract:
1. An intervention-independent device for scan plane control, comprising: a plurality of markers configured to produce position signals corresponding to positions of the markers, where the position signals describe an orientation of the device, where the position signals are magnetic resonance signals from which the spatial coordinates of a marker or the orientation of a marker can be determined, where the position signals are sufficient to describe a desired magnetic resonance (MR) scan plane, where the markers comprise active markers that are responsive to excitation from the MRI magnetic field to produce the position signals, where the markers comprise coils; one or more transmitters configured to transmit the position signals to a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system using one or more of, amplitude modulation, and frequency modulation; a wireless reference recovery circuit configured to receive a mixed signal comprising high frequency upper and lower sideband components of a low frequency reference signal and to mix the received high frequency components upper and lower sideband components to recover the low frequency reference signal, where the low frequency reference signal is used to synchronize the device with the MRI system for wireless communication, the high frequency upper sideband being a greater frequency than the high frequency lower sideband, and the high frequency upper sideband and high frequency lower sideband having a greater frequency than the low frequency reference signal; an onboard asynchronous reference source configured to produce a second reference signal asynchronous to the low frequency reference signal associated with the MRI system, and to produce a carrier frequency to facilitate transmitting the position signals, and a housing configured to be held by an interventionalist, where the housing houses the markers and transmitters; where the markers and transmitters operate without signal or mechanical interaction with an interventional device in use to treat a patient; and where the MRI system is controlled to perform a subsequent scan of the patient along the desired scan plane independent of a position of an interventional device in use to treat the patient.