Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US8073527?dq=6233682
Timestamp: 2015-01-29 01:15:45
Document Index: 178177976

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 8', 'art 8', 'art 8', 'art 8', 'art 8', 'art 8', 'art 8', 'Application No. 200710152891', 'Application No. 200710152891']

Patent US8073527 - Field generating unit of a combined MR/PET system - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inAdvanced Patent SearchPatentsAn RF antenna arrangement of a combined MR/PET system is disclosed. In at least one embodiment, the RF antenna arrangement includes a first part installed in the examination tunnel in a fashion fixed to the system such that it is arranged underneath the couch board when the latter is introduced, and...http://www.google.com/patents/US8073527?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US8073527 - Field generating unit of a combined MR/PET systemAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS8073527 B2Publication typeGrantApplication numberUS 11/905,250Publication dateDec 6, 2011Filing dateSep 28, 2007Priority dateSep 29, 2006Also published asCN101152084A, CN101152084B, DE102006046287A1, US20080088309Publication number11905250, 905250, US 8073527 B2, US 8073527B2, US-B2-8073527, US8073527 B2, US8073527B2InventorsLudwig Eberler, Razvan Lazar, J�rgen Nistler, Wolfgang Renz, Norbert RietschOriginal AssigneeSiemens AktiengesellschaftExport CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (17), Non-Patent Citations (5), Referenced by (1), Classifications (9), Legal Events (1) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetField generating unit of a combined MR/PET systemUS 8073527 B2Abstract An RF antenna arrangement of a combined MR/PET system is disclosed. In at least one embodiment, the RF antenna arrangement includes a first part installed in the examination tunnel in a fashion fixed to the system such that it is arranged underneath the couch board when the latter is introduced, and a second part, which can be placed onto the couch board and be introduced into and withdrawn from the examination tunnel together with the couch board. In at least one embodiment, the second part is of dimensionally stable design and has a clear cross section that is adapted to the object to be examined. Consequently, the time outlay for applying the RF antenna is reduced, and the fixed position of the RF antenna enables a correction of the attenuation of gamma rays. Furthermore, a number of second parts having various diameters can be provided.
1. A field generating unit of a combined MR/PET system, the field generating unit surrounding an examination tunnel, wherein a displaceable couch board is configured to be introduced into and withdrawn from the examination tunnel, and the displaceable couch board is further configured to hold an object to be examined, the field generating unit comprising:
a main magnet configured to generate a constant magnetic field in the examination tunnel;
a PET detector ring radially surrounding the examination tunnel, the PET detector ring being configured to detect gamma rays;
an internal RF antenna arrangement configured to receive MR signals, the internal RF antenna including a first part installed in the examination tunnel and arranged underneath the couch board when the couch board is introduced into the examination tunnel, and including a second part configured to be placed onto the couch board and introduced into and withdrawn from the examination tunnel together with the couch board, the second part of the internal RF antenna arrangement including a cross section adapted to a cross section of the object to be examined, and
an accommodating device in the examination tunnel, the accommodating device being configured to hold the second part of the internal RF antenna arrangement in the field generating unit while the couch board is pushed through the examination tunnel.
2. The field generating unit as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:
an external RF antenna arrangement surrounding the examination tunnel, the external RF antenna arrangement being configured to transmit RF pulses and receive MR signals.
3. The field generating unit as claimed in claim 2, wherein an image field of the internal RF antenna arrangement and an image field of the PET detector ring overlap.
4. The field generating unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the accommodating device includes electrical contacts configured to connect the second part of the internal RF antenna arrangement to a control unit arranged outside the field generating unit.
5. The field generating unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the accommodating device is configured to hold the second part of the internal RF antenna arrangement in the field generating unit while the couch board is withdrawn from the examination tunnel and the object to be examined is exchanged.
6. The field generating unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the displaceable couch board is configured to hold a human or animal as the object to be examined.
7. The field generating unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one of a shape and size of the cross-section of the second part of the internal RF antenna arrangement is adapted to at least one of a shape and size of the cross-section of the object to be examined such that the internal RF antenna arrangement is arranged as close as possible to the object but, upon displacement of the couch board, the object is configured to slide under the second part, held by the accommodating device, of the internal RF antenna arrangement.
9. The field generating unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein an image field of the internal RF antenna arrangement and an image field of the PET detector ring overlap.
10. The field generating unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the combined MR/PET system is configured to acquire MR and PET image data of an entire body of a human by pushing the couch board piecewise through an image field of the internal RF antenna arrangement and through an image field of the PET detector ring.
12. An MR/PET system comprising:
a field generating unit and a set of a number of different second parts of an internal RF antenna arrangement, the field generating unit surrounding an examination tunnel, wherein a displaceable couch board is configured to be introduced into and withdrawn from the examination tunnel, and the displaceable couch board is configured to hold an object to be examined, the field generating unit including,
a main magnet configured to generate a constant magnetic field in the examination tunnel,
a PET detector ring radially surrounding the examination tunnel, the PET detector ring being configured to detect gamma rays,
an internal RF antenna arrangement configured to receive MR signals, the internal RF antenna arrangement including a first part installed in the examination tunnel and arranged underneath the couch board when the couch board is introduced into the examination tunnel, and including a particular second part from among the set of the number of different second parts, the particular second part being configured to be placed onto the couch board and introduced into and withdrawn from the examination tunnel together with the couch board, the particular second part of the internal RF antenna arrangement including a cross section adapted to a cross section of the object to be examined, and
an accommodating device in the examination tunnel, the accommodating device being configured to hold the particular second part of the internal RF antenna arrangement in the field generating unit while the couch board is pushed through the examination tunnel;
an arithmetic logic unit configured to reconstruct three-dimensional PET images from image data acquired by the PET detector ring; wherein
the control unit is configured to automatically detect, during operation, which one of the second parts of the internal RF antenna arrangement of the set is held in the accommodating device, and to output a corresponding signal to the arithmetic logic unit, and
the arithmetic logic unit is configured to correct, during the image reconstruction, the attenuation of the gamma rays produced by the particular second part of the internal RF antenna arrangement. Description
PRIORITY STATEMENT The present application hereby claims priority under 35 U.S.C. �119 on German patent application number DE 10 2006 046 287.4 filed Sep. 29, 2006, the entire contents of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD Embodiments of the invention generally relate to a combination of medical imaging methods of MR or MRT (magnetic resonance tomography) and PET (positron emission tomography) in one device. For example, in at least one embodiment it may relate to a field generating unit of a combined MR/PET system having a main magnet for generating a constant magnetic field in an examination tunnel, and a PET detector ring radially surrounding the examination tunnel. The object to be examined can be introduced on a displaceable couch board into the examination tunnel.
BACKGROUND Magnetic resonance tomography (MR or MRT) is an imaging method for displaying tissue in the human or animal body. MRT is based on the principle of nuclear magnetic resonance in accordance with which atomic nuclei such as the hydrogen nuclei present in large numbers in the body exhibit a magnetic moment. Consequently, they can be excited in an applied external magnetic field with the aid of electromagnetic radiation in the radio frequency range (termed RF radiation or RF pulse), and output this radiation shortly thereafter. This RF radiation, also termed an MR signal, is detected with the aid of an RF antenna that can also be used to generate the exciting radiation. The external magnetic field is mostly generated by a superconducting main magnet that encloses a horizontal examination tunnel into which the object to be examined, for example a patient on a couch board, is pushed. Spatial coding of the MR signals can be achieved by magnetic fields having a spatial gradient that are generated by so-called gradient coils.
The unit surrounding the examination tunnel and composed of main magnet, gradient coils and, if appropriate, an RF antenna is designated in general as a �field generating unit�. Further components of an MR system such as control computer, ADCs, frequency generators etc are not part of the field generating unit, but are generally arranged next to the field generating unit in a separate room.
SUMMARY In at least one embodiment of the invention, an RF antenna arrangement is provided that is specifically improved or even optimized for a combined MR/PET system, does not exhibit at least one of the above disadvantages of conventional body coils, and/or supplies a signal-to-noise ratio comparable to these coils.
The internal RF antenna arrangement can include a birdcage antenna or a multichannel receiving coil, also termed an array coil. This enables the parallel acquisition of MR signals with the aid of a number of channels, which leads to a further improvement in the signal-to-noise ratio. It is possible to apply parallel reception techniques such as SENSE (SENSitivity Encoding�see, for example, Klass P. Pruessmann et al.: �SENSE: Sensitivity Encoding for Fast MRI� Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, 42:952-62, 1999) or GRAPPA (GeneRalised Autocalibrating Partially Parallel Acquisitions), the entire contents of each of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
In order further to reduce the attenuation of the gamma rays, the section of the internal RF antenna arrangement necessarily located in the image field of the PET detector ring during the examination is preferably configured such that the arrangement is improved or even optimized for the least possible attenuation of the gamma ray path. As mentioned above, for one thing as far as possible it is only conductor tracks that are located in the image field of the PET detector ring. These are constructed from metal layers that are as thin as possible, in particular metal layers approximately 5 to 30 μm thick, particularly preferably a copper layer 18 μm thick. The conductor tracks are applied to a cladding that preferably includes plastic and is likewise fabricated as thinly as possible.
However, the couch board 2 is moved out in the illustration of FIG. 1. A patient 3 is supported on the couch board, and a second (upper) part 8 b of the internal RF antenna arrangement is placed over the trunk of the patient 3. The part 8 b is not shown in cross section. As is to be seen from the drawing, the clear height d of the second part 8 b is slightly higher than the maximum height of the supported patient 3 such that the latter can still slide through under the second part 8 b. The second part 8 b of the internal RF antenna arrangement is placed onto a rail 9 a of the patient base. When the couch board 2 is pushed into the examination tunnel 11, this makes contact with a corresponding rail 9 b that is connected to an accommodating device 10. The electrical contacts are arranged in the accommodating device 10. Moreover, this preferably has a pin (not illustrated) that, upon the couch board 2 being pushed in, automatically engages in a corresponding cutout in the second part 8 b of the RF antenna arrangement, and thereby retains this in the center of the examination tunnel 11, even if the couch board 2 is moved further. The pin connection, however, can also be released in order to move the second part 8 b of the RF antenna arrangement out of the examination tunnel 11.
Alternatively, the couch board 2 can also be pushed continuously through the stationary internal RF antenna arrangement 8 a, 8 b while MR image data and PET image data are acquired continuously (�move during scan�).
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