Patent ID: 7109712

Claim:
A magnetic resonance imaging system comprising: a radiofrequency (rf) coil comprising a pair of end rings connected by a plurality of rungs disposed perpendicular to the plane of the end rings; and a gradient coil comprising a conductor wound as a solenoid coil in which the winding is reversed at a transverse plane located at the isocenter of a field generated by the coil to form a first winding and a reversed, second winding, the transition from the first winding to the second winding being accomplished by a spirally wound segment of the conductor which passes around the whole body rf coil at least one half of a turn prior to reversing and wherein the coil further comprises a pair of gaps, one on either side of the transverse plane, wherein each gap is situated so that the solenoid coil is not wound above a pair of end rings of the whole body rf coil and wherein a minimum amount of conductive material crosses each gap.