EP0768539A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Magnetic resonance methods and apparatus
Assignee: Philips Nuclear Medicine Inc
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Filing: 1996-09-24
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2016-09-24
Abstract
Abstract A method of locating the position of an object placed in a region of a body being examined using a magnetic resonance technique comprising: attaching to the object a closed loop tuned coil arrangement; subjecting said region to a magnetic resonance excitation and detection examination sequence at the frequency to which said coil arrangement is tuned, so as to acquire a detected signal, the sequence including at least one magnetic field gradient whereby the detected signals are spatially encoded; and utilising the detected signals to obtain an indication of the position of said coil arrangement and hence said object, in said region; the coil arrangement being carried on a tubular flexible former and incorporating turns which lie substantially in non-parallel planes when the axis of the former lies substantially in a straight line.
Inventors
- 👤 Michael Burl
- 👤 Ian Robert Young
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-24 00:27
CPC Classifications
G; G01; G01R; G01R33/00; G01R33/20; G01R33/28; G01R33/285; G01R33/32; G01R33/34; G01R33/34007; G01R33/34084
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 10
Claim 1
Independent Claim
133 words
A method of locating the position of an object placed in a region of a body being examined using a magnetic resonance technique comprising: attaching to the object a closed loop tuned coil arrangement; subjecting said region to a magnetic resonance excitation and detection examination sequence at the frequency to which said coil arrangement is tuned, so as to acquire a detected signal, the sequence including at least one magnetic field gradient whereby the detected signals are spatially encoded; and utilising the detected signals to obtain an indication of the position of said coil arrangement and hence said object, in said region; the coil arrangement being carried on a tubular flexible former and incorporating turns which lie substantially in non-parallel planes when the axis of the former lies substantially in a straight line.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
139 words
A magnetic resonance apparatus for the examination of an internal region of a body including means for indicating the location of an object placed in said region comprising: a closed loop tuned coil arrangement attached to the object; and means for subjecting said region to a magnetic resonance excitation and detection examination sequence at the frequency to which the coil arrangement is tuned so as to acquire a detected signal, the sequence including the application of at least one spatially encoding magnetic field gradient to said region to enable determination of the position of the coil, and hence the object, in the body from the detected signal, and the coil arrangement being carried on a tubular flexible former and incorporating turns which lie substantially in non-parallel planes when the axis of the former lies substantially in a straight line.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
54 words
A method according to Claim 1 or an apparatus according to Claim 2 wherein the coil arrangement includes at least one turn which lies substantially in a plane orthogonal to the plane of at least one other turn of the coil arrangement when the axis of the former lies substantially in a straight line.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
26 words
A method or apparatus according to Claim 3 wherein the coil arrangement comprises two separate tuned coils whose turns substantially lie respectively in substantially orthogonal planes.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
55 words
A method according to Claim 1 or an apparatus according to Claim 2 wherein the coil arrangement includes at least one turn whose axis lies substantially in a first plane including the axis of the object and at least one other turn whose axis lies substantially in another plane containing the axis of the object.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
20 words
A method according to Claim 1 or an apparatus according to Claim 2 wherein said turns are of saddle form.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
35 words
A method or apparatus according to Claim 6 wherein the coil arrangement comprises pairs of turns of saddle form at diametrically opposite axially aligned positions on the object with different pairs aligned on orthogonal axes.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
23 words
A method or apparatus according to Claim 7 wherein the coil arrangement further includes a spiral coil wound on the object coaxial therewith.
Claim 9
Independent Claim
32 words
A method or apparatus according to any preceding claim wherein the coil arrangement comprises one or more electrically conductive tracks carried on one or more thin flexible substrates wrapped around the object.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
77 words
A method or apparatus according to Claim 9 wherein the coil arrangement comprises at least one turn which lies substantially in a first plane at an angle of substantially 54° to the axis of the object when it is straight, at least one turn which lies substantially in a second plane which is orthogonal to the first plane, and at least one turn which lies substantially in a third plane normal to the axis of the object.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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