Patent Description:
Gradient coils are usually built of loops of wire or thin conductive sheets which are provided on a cylindrical shell lying just inside the bore of an MRI system. When an electrical current is passed through these coils a secondary magnetic field is created. This secondary magnetic field constitutes a gradient field which superimposes the main magnetic field, thereby causing the resonance frequency of protons to vary as a function of position. In this way, spatial encoding of the magnetic resonance signals becomes possible. Further, gradient coils are also used for different physiologic techniques, such as magnetic resonance angiography, diffusion, and perfusion imaging.

The walls along the inner bore of an MRI system usually become warm when an examination object is examined. This heating is mainly caused by eddy currents and resistive heating as current is passed through the gradient coil. Such gradient coils are typically driven by powerful pulse-width modulated amplifiers with peak coil driving voltages up to <NUM> V and currents exceeding <NUM> A. Thus, intense gradient heat is created with maximum internal coil temperatures reaching <NUM> to <NUM>. The power required for operating a gradient coil scales with the fifth power of its radius which means that gradient coil design and cooling of gradient coils is even more difficult for modern wide-bore systems.

In this situation, for all gradient coils in MRI systems usually fluidic cooling is used in order to reduce the heating effects. Typically, water or a water-ethylene glycol solution from a heat exchange pump is used as a cooling fluid which is circulated through cooling channels of a cooling arrangement of the MRI system, the cooling channels being in thermally conducting contact with the gradient coil.

In <CIT> a gradient coil assembly with a gradient coil comprised of four electrical conductor lines and a cooling channel for cooling these electrical conductor lines by a cooling fluid guided in the cooling channel is shown. The electrical conductor lines are arranged with a distance from each other while two of the electrical conductor lines are arranged on one side of the cooling channel and the other two electrical conductor lines are arranged on the opposite side of the cooling channel. However, this arrangement has disadvantages with respect to relatively high eddy currents and inefficient cooling.

<CIT> concerns a direct cooled magnet coil comprising a plurality of segmented conductors enclosing a cooling pipe. The wall of the cooling pipe separates the coolant from the segmented conductors.

From <CIT> methods and systems are known for a gradient coil assembly. In one embodiment, a gradient coil assembly comprises a hollow, first gradient coil and a solid, second gradient coil co-wound with the first gradient coil. In this way, the turn density of the gradient coil assembly may be increased.

<CIT> describes a gradient coil unit for a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus which includes gradient coils for forming gradient magnetic fields in mutually orthogonal three axis directions. At least one of the gradient coils includes a conductor part along a coil pattern and a holding part holding the coil pattern. A passage of a coolant is formed inside at least one of the conductor part and the holding part. The passage has a non-constant cross section.

According to <CIT> a cooling system for electrical coils, such as a coil in a magnetic resonance tomography apparatus, has a heat dissipation device with a fluid and a tempered reservoir for the fluid. The fluid is thermally coupled to the coil and the tempered reservoir is temperature-regulated to maintain the fluid at a fluid temperature and a fluid pressure that are in the immediate proximity of the critical point of the fluid. The cooling system is also suitable for cooling shim iron in a magnetic resonance tomography apparatus, in which case the coupling is in thermal communication with a container for the shim iron.

<CIT> describes that in order to reduce the cutting length of a conductor from which coils are formed, and further to reduce vibration and noise generated by main coils and shielding coils, the ends of adjacent portions of the conductor are cut simultaneously by setting the interval between them at a fixed cutting width. Spacers are fixed between coils and main shielding coils by an adhesive, and electromagnetic mechanical forces opposite in direction and generated by the coils and offset each other, thus reducing vibration and noise.

It is an object of the invention to provide efficient cooling of a gradient coil for an MRI system.

This object is achieved by the subject matter of the independent claims. Preferred embodiments are described in the sub claims.

The cross-sectional view according to the present invention is a view in a plane which is perpendicular to the respective longitudinal direction of the one or more conductor lines. Because of the curvature of the windings of the gradient coil the longitudinal direction changes along the way of the one or more conductor lines.

Thus, according to the invention the cooling channel is arranged outside and along the one or more conductor lines. In this way, the cross section of the one or more conductor lines can be kept small reducing the effect of eddy currents. Further, in a cross-sectional view, there is only one single interface line between the cooling channel and the one or more conductor lines which provides for a very compact design which increases the cooling efficiency and further reduces eddy currents. According to the invention, the cooling channel has a transverse cross section that is open at one side, in particular having a U-shape or C-shape, and the open side being covered by the interface between the cooling channel and the one or more conductor lines to which the cooling channel is abutted. The transverse direction is transverse, preferably orthogonal to, the long axis of the channel. The U-shape may have rounded or sharp corners between U-shape's base and legs.

In general, the cooling channels can be made from different materials which are either electrically non-conductive materials or conductive materials with a much lower electrical conductivity than the one or more conductor lines and/or having a wall thickness much smaller than the dimensions of the one or more conductor lines. However, according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the cooling channel is made of a plastic material or stainless steel which is fixed, preferably molded or bonded, to the one or more conductor lines.

According to the invention, the cooling channel is open at at least part of its interface with the one or more conductor lines thereby allowing cooling fluid flowing in the cooling channel to get into direct contact with at least a part of the surface of the one or more conductor lines. Compared to providing a wall between the cooling fluid and the one or more conductor lines this allows an even more efficient cooling of the one or more conductor lines.

The gradient coil can be made of different materials. However, preferably the solid electrical conductor material of the gradient coil is copper or aluminum.

The invention also relates to a magnetic resonance imaging system with a gradient coil assembly as described above.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the one or more conductor lines and the cooling channel are made by coextrusion or extruded separately first and then fixed to each other, preferably by molding or bonding. In this way, long integrated conductor-cooling channel arrangements may be received which can then be used to wind an X, Y or Z coil of the gradient coil. This can be done on a holder plate or by using tooling.

According to the invention, the cooling fluid is in direct contact with a part of the surface of the one or more conductor lines which further enhances the cooling efficiency.

Such an embodiment does not necessarily represent the full scope of the invention, however, and reference is made therefore to the claims and herein for interpreting the scope of the invention.

In <FIG> a schematic longitudinal sectional view of an MRI system <NUM> according to an embodiment of the invention is depicted. This MRI system <NUM> comprises a gradient coil <NUM>, a magnet <NUM>, an RF transmit coil <NUM>, and an RF receive coil <NUM>. An examination object <NUM>, e.g. a patient, can be positioned on an patient support <NUM>. With this patient support <NUM> the examination object <NUM> can be disposed in an examination area <NUM> in the MRI system <NUM> which is surrounded by the magnet <NUM>, the gradient coil <NUM>, the RF transmit coil <NUM> and the RF receive coil <NUM> for MRI examination.

According to the present invention it has been found that when AC dissipation in the gradient coil <NUM> needs to be limited to be able to increase AC rms gradient strength, it is beneficial to reduce the cross section of the conductor of the gradient coil <NUM> and to wind coil patterns that are sparse. In order to maintain good cooling efficiency in such a situation cooling fluid is brought in thermal contact with the conductor on the outside of the conductor as described below in more detail. In this way the invention provides for very small solid conductor cross-sections while keeping direct cooling possible with a coolant in close thermal contact with the conductor. By keeping the cross-section of the conductors small eddy current losses are minimised. At the same time a cooling fluid is guided along the conductor sharing thermal contact with the conductor. This leads to direct efficient cooling and because the cooling channel has low electric conductivity, eddy current losses in the cooling channel are small.

In <FIG> a schematic cross-sectional view of an embodiment of a gradient coil assembly <NUM> according to the present invention for a magnetic resonance imaging system <NUM> like the one shown in <FIG> is depicted. The gradient coil assembly <NUM> according to <FIG> comprises a solid electrical conductor material, i.e. copper, forming a single conductor line <NUM> which comprises a square cross-section. Further, the gradient coil assembly <NUM> according to <FIG> comprises a cooling channel <NUM> with an outer wall <NUM> for guiding a cooling fluid <NUM>. According to the present embodiment, the outer wall <NUM> of the cooling channel <NUM> is made of a plastic material.

This cooling channel <NUM> has a semi-circular cross section and, thus, is open on one side. For forming the cooling channel <NUM> for conducting the cooling fluid <NUM>, the outer wall <NUM> of the cooling channel <NUM> is bonded to the conductor line <NUM>. In this way the cooling fluid <NUM> may get into direct contact with the outer surface of the conductor line <NUM>. Avoiding an inner wall of the cooling channel <NUM> helps efficiently removing heat from the conductor line <NUM>.

From <FIG> it can be understood that the cooling channel <NUM> is arranged outside along the conductor line <NUM> in such a way that in a cross-sectional view one single continuous interface line between the cooling channel <NUM> and the conductor line <NUM> is formed. In the present cross-sectional view, this interface line is given by the outer surface of the conductor line <NUM> on the right side where the cooling channel <NUM> is arranged and where the cooling fluid <NUM> gets into direct contact with the outer surface of the conductor line <NUM>.

The embodiment shown in <FIG> is not part of the present invention. This embodiment is similar to the embodiment shown in <FIG>. However, in contrast to the embodiment shown in <FIG>, the embodiment of <FIG> comprises two conductor lines <NUM> with rectangular cross-section which are in direct contact with each other. Having two conductor lines <NUM> with smaller cross-sections instead of one single conductor <NUM> with a bigger cross-section as in <FIG> makes it easier to wind coil patterns for the gradient coil <NUM> with small curvatures.

Further, there is a difference according to the embodiment shown in <FIG> in that an inner wall <NUM> is provided which is in direct contact with conductor line <NUM>. Therefore, the cooling channel <NUM> is comprised of a tube which is made of the semicircular outer wall <NUM> and the inner wall <NUM> which has the form of a straight line. This inner wall <NUM> makes the manufacturing of the cooling channel <NUM> easier while heat transfer from the conductor line <NUM> might not be as effective as in the embodiment of <FIG>.

Finally, in <FIG> an embodiment is depicted which omits an inner wall as in the embodiment of <FIG> with the only difference that the cross-section of the cooling channel <NUM> is rectangular.

For the embodiments shown in <FIG>, <FIG> long conductor-cooling channels can be made at once by extrusion or in two-step approaches where the conductor and the cooling channel are made by extrusion separately and are glued or bonded together. These long integrated conductor-cooling channels can then be used to wind an X, Y or Z coil of the gradient coil. This can be done on a holder plate or using tooling.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, such illustration and description are to be considered illustrative or exemplary and not restrictive; the invention is defined by the claims and not limited to the disclosed embodiments. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage, provided that the resulting subject-matter falls within the scope of the invention as defined by the claims.

Claim 1:
A gradient coil assembly for a magnetic resonance imaging system (<NUM>), the gradient coil assembly comprising at least one gradient coil (<NUM>) and a cooling arrangement for cooling the gradient coil (<NUM>), wherein
the gradient coil (<NUM>) is comprised of a solid electrical conductor material forming one solid conductor line (<NUM>, <NUM>) or more solid conductor lines (<NUM>) which are in direct contact with each other,
the cooling arrangement comprises a cooling channel (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) configured for guiding a cooling fluid (<NUM>), and
the cooling channel (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) is arranged outside along the one solid conductor line (<NUM>, <NUM>) or the more solid conductor lines (<NUM>), respectively, in such a way that in a cross-sectional view one single continuous interface line between the cooling channel (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) and the one solid conductor line (<NUM>, <NUM>) or the more solid conductor lines (<NUM>), respectively, is formed, wherein
the cooling channel (<NUM>, <NUM>,<NUM>) is open at at least part of its interface with the one solid conductor line (<NUM>, <NUM>) or the more solid conductor lines (<NUM>), respectively, characterised in that an outer wall (<NUM>, <NUM>) of the cooling channel is bonded to the one solid conductor line (<NUM>, <NUM>) or the more solid conductor lines (<NUM>), respectively, in a way to allow cooling fluid (<NUM>) guided in the cooling channel (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) to get into direct contact with at least a part of an outer surface of the one conductor line (<NUM>, <NUM>) or the more conductor lines (<NUM>), respectively.