Patent ID: 8694294
Filing Date: 2014-04-08
Classification: G01R,H01F

Abstract:
1. An automated, computerized method to design a conductor configuration of a gradient coil of a magnetic resonance data acquisition device, said method comprising: for a specific magnetic resonance data acquisition device for which a conductor configuration of a gradient coil is to be designed, identifying an electrical conducting structure of said magnetic resonance data acquisition device that is subject to oscillation when said gradient coil is operated to participate in acquisition of magnetic resonance data by said magnetic resonance data acquisition device with simultaneous generation of a static, homogenous magnetic field in said magnetic resonance data acquisition device, said oscillation arising from Lorentz forces acting on said electrically conductive structure due to eddy currents in said electrically conductive structure caused by a current in said conductor configuration during, said operation of said gradient coil, interacting with said static, homogenous magnetic field; in a computer, automatically executing an algorithm to design said conductor configuration of said gradient coil for said specific magnetic resonance data acquisition device by solving a classified multi-objective optimization problem having multiple boundary conditions; in execution of said algorithm in said computer, automatically calculating said eddy currents, that are caused in said electrically conductive structure by said operation of said gradient coil and, from the calculated eddy currents and known attributes of said static, homogenous magnetic field, mathematically representing an oscillation response of said electrically conductive structure to said operation of said gradient coil; executing said algorithm in said computer using, as one of said boundary conditions, the calculated oscillation response of said electrically conductive structure and calculating said configuration of said conductor structure of said gradient coil, as a solution to said optimization problem, that produces eddy currents in said electrically conductive structure that cause an oscillation of said electrically conductive structure that does substantially no harm to said magnetic resonance data acquisition device; and making a representation of the conductor configuration determined in the computer, as a solution to said optimization problem, available at an output of the computer in a form providing information to manufacture a physical gradient coil for said magnetic resonance data acquisition device with a conductor having said conductor configuration.