Patent ID: 7382134

Claim:
A superconducting magnet apparatus for MRI, comprising: a top superconducting magnet and a bottom superconducting magnet spaced apart from each other with the top superconducting magnet being on top of the bottom superconducting magnet, each of the top and bottom superconducting magnets including a superconducting coil group formed of plural superconducting coils, a helium vessel for accommodating the superconducting coil group, a vacuum vessel for accommodating the helium vessel and providing vacuum insulation by maintaining an interior under vacuum, and a heat shield that is provided in a space between the helium vessel and the vacuum vessel to block off radiation heat from the vacuum vessel; a connection portion for connecting integrally the top superconducting magnet and the bottom superconducting magnet; and a pair of gradient coils provided, respectively, to opposing inner surfaces of the top superconducting magnet and the bottom superconducting magnet to generate a gradient magnetic field, wherein: a homogeneous magnetic field and a gradient magnetic field are generated in a space between the top superconducting magnet and the bottom superconducting magnet; the bottom superconducting magnet is provided with a supporting member for supporting the helium vessel of the bottom superconducting magnet connected integrally to the helium vessel of the top superconducting magnet via the connection portion; and the supporting member is fixed to the helium vessel of the bottom superconducting magnet at one end and to the vacuum vessel of the bottom superconducting magnet at another end, and is fixed to a floor surface in a vicinity of the end fixed to the vacuum vessel.