阅读说明：本技术 梯度线圈及磁共振成像系统 (Gradient coil and magnetic resonance imaging system ) 是由 岳振华 彭卫平 于 2019-11-28 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明实施例中公开了一种梯度线圈及磁共振成像系统。其中的梯度线圈支持两种梯度模式：第一梯度模式和第二梯度模式；其中,在第一梯度模式下,提供具有第一最大梯度切换率的梯度场；在第二梯度模式下,提供具有第二最大梯度切换率的梯度场；所述第二梯度切换率大于所述第一梯度切换率。本发明实施例中的技术方案,能够减少扫描时间。(The embodiment of the invention discloses a gradient coil and a magnetic resonance imaging system. The gradient coils therein support two gradient modes: a first gradient mode and a second gradient mode; wherein in a first gradient mode, a gradient field with a first maximum gradient switching rate is provided; in a second gradient mode, providing a gradient field having a second maximum gradient switching rate; the second gradient switching rate is greater than the first gradient switching rate. The technical scheme in the embodiment of the invention can reduce the scanning time.)

1. Gradient coils, characterized in that two gradient modes are supported: a first gradient mode and a second gradient mode; wherein the content of the first and second substances,

in a first gradient mode, providing a gradient field having a first maximum gradient switching rate; in a second gradient mode, providing a gradient field having a second maximum gradient switching rate; the second gradient switching rate is greater than the first gradient switching rate.

2. The gradient coil of claim 1, comprising: a main coil and a shield coil; the main coil and the shielding coil respectively comprise an X coil, a Y coil and a Z coil; the X coil, the Y coil and the Z coil respectively comprise a plurality of metal coils; it is characterized in that the preparation method is characterized in that,

each metal coil of the X coil, the Y coil and the Z coil comprises a plurality of sub-coils, and the plurality of sub-coils are wound in parallel to form the set shape of the metal coil;

in a first gradient mode, the plurality of sub-coils work in series; in the second gradient mode, only part of the plurality of sub-coils work in series.

3. Gradient coil according to claim 2,

and the plurality of sub-coils are parallelly wound in the same layer to form the set shape of the metal coil.

4. Gradient coil according to claim 2 or 3,

the plurality of sub-coils are connected in series, part of the plurality of sub-coils connected in series are connected with a short circuit line in parallel, and the part of the sub-coils connected in series and the other end of the short circuit line are respectively connected with one connecting end of an alternative switch.

5. The gradient coil of claim 4, wherein the plurality of sub-coils comprises: a first sub-coil, a second sub-coil and a third sub-coil connected in series; and is

The third sub-coil is connected with a short circuit line in parallel;

the other ends of the third sub-coil and the short circuit line are respectively connected with one connecting end of an alternative switch.

6. The gradient coil of claim 5, wherein the alternative switch is a single pole double throw mechanical switch, an electromagnetic relay switch, or a semiconductor switch.

7. A gradient coil according to claim 1, wherein in a first gradient mode the gradient coil is powered by a first power supply having a first output voltage; in a second gradient mode, the gradient coil is powered by a second power supply having a second output voltage; the second output voltage is greater than the first output voltage.

8. A magnetic resonance imaging system comprising a gradient coil as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7.

Technical Field

The invention relates to the field of magnetic resonance imaging, in particular to a gradient coil supporting a dual gradient mode and a magnetic resonance imaging system.

Background

Currently, in medical institutions such as hospitals and clinics, a large number of patients are often faced with the need for Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanning. Typically, a scan of one patient takes about ten to twenty minutes or more, resulting in a large number of people and resulting in an excessive waiting time for the patient. Although medical institutions may alleviate these situations by purchasing new magnetic resonance scanners, this is not a viable solution for small and medium hospital institutions, as new magnetic resonance scanners not only are a huge investment, but also require a special large room to install.

To this end, the person skilled in the art is also working to find new solutions.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the foregoing, embodiments of the present invention provide a gradient coil, and a magnetic resonance imaging system, to improve the maximum gradient switching rate and shorten the scan time.

The gradient coil supporting the double gradient modes provided by the embodiment of the invention supports two gradient modes: a first gradient mode and a second gradient mode; wherein in a first gradient mode, a gradient field with a first maximum gradient switching rate is provided; in a second gradient mode, providing a gradient field having a second maximum gradient switching rate; the second gradient switching rate is greater than the first gradient switching rate.

In one embodiment, the gradient coil comprises: a main coil and a shield coil; the main coil and the shielding coil respectively comprise an X coil, a Y coil and a Z coil; the X coil, the Y coil and the Z coil respectively comprise a plurality of metal coils; each metal coil of the X coil, the Y coil and the Z coil comprises a plurality of sub-coils, and the plurality of sub-coils are wound in parallel to form the set shape of the metal coil; in a first gradient mode, the plurality of sub-coils work in series; in the second gradient mode, only part of the plurality of sub-coils work in series.

In one embodiment, the plurality of sub-coils are wound in parallel in the same layer to form the set shape of the metal coil.

In one embodiment, the plurality of sub-coils are connected in series, and a short circuit line is connected in parallel to some of the plurality of sub-coils, and the other end of the short circuit line and the some of the sub-coils connected in parallel with the short circuit line are connected to a connection terminal of an alternative switch, respectively.

In one embodiment, the plurality of sub-coils includes: a first sub-coil, a second sub-coil and a third sub-coil connected in series; and the third sub-coil is connected in parallel with a short circuit line; the other ends of the third sub-coil and the short circuit line are respectively connected with one connecting end of an alternative switch.

In one embodiment, the alternative switch is a single pole double throw mechanical switch, an electromagnetic relay switch, or a semiconductor switch.

In one embodiment, in a first gradient mode, the gradient coil is powered by a first power supply having a first output voltage; in a second gradient mode, the gradient coil is powered by a second power supply having a second output voltage; the second output voltage is greater than the first output voltage.

In an embodiment of the present invention, a magnetic resonance imaging system includes the gradient coil described in any of the above embodiments.

As can be seen from the above solution, since the gradient coil supporting the dual gradient mode is proposed in the embodiment of the present invention, it provides the gradient field with the first maximum gradient switching rate in the first gradient mode; in a second gradient mode, providing a gradient field having a second maximum gradient switching rate; the second gradient switching rate is greater than the first gradient switching rate. Therefore, the maximum gradient switching rate can be improved in the second gradient mode, and the scanning time can be shortened so as to adapt to the condition that the number of people waiting for scanning in line is large.

By changing each metal coil of the gradient coil from a complete coil into a plurality of parallel wound sub-coils, all the plurality of sub-coils work in series in a first gradient mode and are equivalent to an original complete coil, so that the gradient coil can work according to a traditional mode; in the second gradient mode, only part of the sub-coils can be connected in series to work, so that the maximum gradient switching rate can be improved, and the scanning time can be shortened. In this case, different maximum gradient switching rates can be obtained by arranging different numbers of sub-coils.

In addition, the plurality of sub-coils are wound in parallel in the same layer, so that the cost of the coil can be kept unchanged.

In addition, by providing two sets of power supplies, one set has a first output voltage, the other set has a second output voltage, and the second output voltage is higher than the first output voltage, in the first gradient mode, the power supply with the first output voltage supplies power to the gradient coil, namely, in a traditional power supply mode, and at the moment, the gradient coil can work according to the traditional mode; in the second gradient mode, the power supply of the second output voltage supplies power to the gradient coil, so that a larger instantaneous output voltage can be obtained, the maximum gradient switching rate can be further improved, and the scanning time can be shortened. At this time, different maximum gradient switching rates can be obtained by configuring different second output voltages.

Drawings

The foregoing and other features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention relates upon consideration of the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

fig. 1A and 1B are schematic structural diagrams of a gradient coil, which is currently exemplified by an X-coil. Fig. 1A is a schematic plan view of a metal coil of the X coil. Fig. 1B is a schematic view of an equivalent circuit connection structure of the metal coil.

Fig. 2A and 2B are schematic structural diagrams of a dual-mode gradient coil obtained by taking an X coil as an example in the embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2A is a schematic plan view of a metal coil of the dual-mode X coil. Fig. 2B is a schematic view of an equivalent circuit connection structure of the metal coil.

Wherein the reference numbers are as follows:

reference numerals	Means of
		L0	Coil
21、L1	First sub-coil
		22、L2	Second sub-coil
23、L3	Third sub-coil

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more apparent, the present invention is further described in detail by referring to the following examples.

In an embodiment of the invention, it is considered that in an MRI system, Gradient Coils (GC) are used to generate frequently switched gradient fields. In general, a whole-body MRI scanner has only a single gradient system that provides a constant maximum gradient strength G_max＝SI_maxAnd constant maximum gradient switching rate r_{s_max}＝(S/L)(U_max-I_maxR) in which U_maxIs the maximum output voltage, I, of a Gradient Power Amplifier (GPA)_maxIs the maximum output current, S is the gradient sensitivity, R is the GC resistance, and L is the GC inductance. The resistance and inductance of the gradient cable and the filter are ignored here.

Based on the above analysis, if the scan time is desired to be shortened, this can be achieved by increasing the maximum gradient switching rate. If the maximum gradient switching rate is to be increased, then it can be seen from the above equation of maximum gradient switching rate that a higher instantaneous maximum output voltage can be provided by using a more powerful gradient power amplifier. For example, if the maximum gradient switching rate is from r_{s_max}Is increased to 3r_{s_max}And/2, the maximum output voltage of the gradient power amplifier must be increased by about 50%. Accordingly, this can be achieved by providing a power supply with a higher output voltage.

Considering that the cost of the power supply with higher output voltage is generally higher, in order to reduce the consumption of the high-cost power supply, it can be considered to provide a solution of dual gradient mode in this embodiment, and table 1 illustrates the operating parameters in the two gradient modes under the first concept by taking the example of increasing the maximum gradient switching rate by about 50%. At this time, two sets of power supplies can be provided, and the two sets of power supplies are connected in parallel through an alternative switch and then are connected into a loop of the gradient coil. In the first gradient mode, i.e. normal gradientIn the mode, a first set of power supplies is connected to generate a first maximum gradient strength G_maxAnd a first maximum gradient switching rate of r_{s_max}The gradient field of (a); in the second gradient mode, i.e. gradient boosting mode, a second set of power supplies is connected to provide a signal with a second maximum gradient strength G_maxAnd a second maximum gradient switching rate of approximately 3r_{s_max}A gradient field of/2.

	Gradient mode I	Gradient mode II
			Maximum output current	Imax	Imax
Maximum output voltage	Umax	～3Umax/2
			Maximum gradient strength	Gmax	Gmax
Maximum gradient switching rate	rs_max	～3rs_max/2

TABLE 1

Considering the above solution, two power supplies still increase the cost of the magnetic resonance imaging system. Thus, after further inventive work, the inventors of the present embodiments found that some sequences only require high and medium gradient strength, since not all sequences require both high and high gradient strength. Therefore, based on this concept, another solution for dual gradient mode can be provided, which can keep the same requirement as the instantaneous output power of the gradient power amplifier, i.e. only one original set of power supplies is used, and the operating parameters in two gradient modes under the second concept are shown in table 2 by taking the example of increasing the maximum gradient switching rate by about 50%.

	Gradient mode I	Gradient mode II
			Maximum output current	Imax	Imax
Maximum output voltage	Umax	Umax
			Maximum gradient strength	Gmax	～2Gmax/3
Maximum gradient switching rate	rs_max	～3rs_max/2

TABLE 2

In order to implement the solution of the dual gradient mode in the second concept, the inventor in the embodiment of the present invention considers that the gradient coil includes a main coil and a shielding coil (also referred to as a secondary coil), and the main coil and the shielding coil respectively include an X-axis coil (X coil for short), a Y-axis coil (Y coil for short), and a Z-axis coil (Z coil for short). In one embodiment, the X, Y, and Z coils each include a plurality of metal coils, such as four metal coils in some applications. In this case, each of the X-coil and the Y-coil has a planar structure as shown in fig. 1A, and is wound from one metal wire 11 into a set shape similar to a fingerprint shape. The equivalent circuit structure of each metal coil is shown in fig. 1B, and each metal coil is equivalent to a coil L0. Each metal coil of the Z coil is then a cylindrical structure wound along a cylindrical spiral, which simplifies the connection structure as also shown in fig. 1B. After a great deal of creative work, the inventor finds that the gradient coil supporting the dual gradient modes shown in table 2 can be realized by modifying each metal coil of the original gradient coil into a dual-mode gradient coil.

Fig. 2A and 2B are schematic structural diagrams of a dual-mode gradient coil obtained by taking an X coil as an example in the embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2A is a schematic plan view of a metal coil of the dual-mode X coil. Fig. 2B is a schematic view of an equivalent circuit connection structure of the metal coil.

As shown in fig. 2A, in order to improve the maximum gradient switching rate by about 50%, each metal coil in the embodiment of the present invention includes three sub-coils, namely, a first sub-coil 21, a second sub-coil 22, and a third sub-coil 23, and the three sub-coils 21, 22, and 23 are wound in parallel into a set shape required by the corresponding coil. In this embodiment, the three sub-coils 21, 22 and 23 are wound in parallel in the same layerThis can be kept the same as the cost of the coil in fig. 1A. Of course, it is also possible that all or part of the three sub-coils 21, 22, 23 are wound in different layers, if the costs are not taken into account. By operating the three sub-coils 21, 22, 23 in series in the first gradient mode, at full current load I_maxAnd full voltage load U_maxIn the case of (2), a gradient strength of G with a first maximum gradient may be provided_maxAnd a first maximum gradient switching rate of r_{s_max}The gradient field of (a); by operating only two of the three sub-coils 21, 22 in series in the second gradient mode, at full current load I_maxAnd full voltage load U_maxIn the case of (2), the second maximum gradient strength may be provided to be approximately 2G_max3 and a second maximum gradient switching rate of approximately 3r_{s_max}A gradient field of/2.

In order to achieve the above object, the connection relationship of the first sub-coil L1, the second sub-coil L2, and the third sub-coil L3 may be designed as shown in fig. 2B. Namely, the first sub-coil L1, the second sub-coil L2 and the third sub-coil L3 are sequentially connected in series; the third sub-coil L3 is also connected in parallel with a short circuit line; the other end of the third sub-coil L3 is connected to a connection terminal K1 of an alternative switch, and the other end of the short circuit line is connected to the other connection terminal K2 of the alternative switch. When operating in the first gradient mode, K1 is closed and K2 is open; when operating in the second gradient mode, K1 is open and K2 is closed.

In the embodiment of the invention, the alternative switch is a single-pole double-throw mechanical switch, an electromagnetic relay switch or a semiconductor switch.

It can be seen that the gradient coil in the embodiment of the present invention is a gradient coil supporting dual gradient modes, which can support two gradient modes: a first gradient mode and a second gradient mode; wherein in a first gradient mode, a gradient field with a first maximum gradient switching rate is provided; in a second gradient mode, providing a gradient field having a second maximum gradient switching rate; the second gradient switching rate is greater than the first gradient switching rate. In the embodiment of the invention, the first maximum gradient switching rate is r_{s_max}The second maximum gradient switching rate is approximate3r_{s_max}The/2 case is only an example. In practical application, the design can be carried out according to practical situations.

For example, based on the second concept, each metal coil may further include a plurality of sub-coils in other numbers, and the plurality of sub-coils are wound in parallel to the set shape of the metal coil; preferably, the plurality of sub-coils are wound in parallel in the same layer. And the plurality of sub-coils are connected in series, and part of the plurality of sub-coils connected in series are connected in parallel with a short circuit line, and the part of the sub-coils connected in series and the other end of the short circuit line are respectively connected with one connecting end of an alternative switch. In the first gradient mode, the plurality of sub-coils work in series, and in the second gradient mode, only part of the plurality of sub-coils work in series. Wherein, the plurality of sub-coils are two sub-coils, and the second sub-coil is connected with a short circuit line in parallel and is alternatively selected from the short circuit line, when the short circuit line is selected, the maximum gradient switching rate can be improved by 100 percent, namely the second maximum gradient switching rate is approximately 2r_{s_max}(ii) a When the plurality of sub-coils are four sub-coils, and the fourth sub-coil is connected with a short circuit line in parallel and is alternatively selected from the short circuit line, the maximum gradient switching rate can be improved by 25 percent when the short circuit line is selected, namely the second maximum gradient switching rate is approximately 5r_{s_max}(ii)/4; and so on.

For another example, based on the first concept, the output voltage value of the second set of power supplies can be selected according to the maximum gradient switching rate that needs to be increased.

Also provided in an embodiment of the invention is a magnetic resonance imaging system that may include the above-described gradient coil supporting dual gradient modes.

As can be seen from the above solution, since the gradient coil supporting the dual gradient mode is proposed in the embodiment of the present invention, it provides the gradient field with the first maximum gradient switching rate in the first gradient mode; in a second gradient mode, providing a gradient field having a second maximum gradient switching rate; the second gradient switching rate is greater than the first gradient switching rate. Therefore, the maximum gradient switching rate can be improved in the second gradient mode, and the scanning time can be shortened so as to adapt to the condition that the number of people waiting for scanning in line is large.

By changing each metal coil of the gradient coil from a complete coil into a plurality of parallel wound sub-coils, all the plurality of sub-coils work in series in a first gradient mode and are equivalent to an original complete coil, so that the gradient coil can work according to a traditional mode; in the second gradient mode, only part of the sub-coils can be connected in series to work, so that the maximum gradient switching rate can be improved, and the scanning time can be shortened. In this case, different maximum gradient switching rates can be obtained by arranging different numbers of sub-coils. In this method, although some maximum gradient strength is sacrificed, since some sequences do not require a higher maximum gradient strength per se, the imaging quality of the magnetic resonance scan is not affected.

In addition, the plurality of sub-coils are wound in parallel in the same layer, so that the cost of the coil can be kept unchanged.

In addition, by providing two sets of power supplies, one set has a first output voltage, the other set has a second output voltage, and the second output voltage is higher than the first output voltage, in the first gradient mode, the power supply with the first output voltage supplies power to the gradient coil, namely, in a traditional power supply mode, and at the moment, the gradient coil can work according to the traditional mode; in the second gradient mode, the power supply of the second output voltage supplies power to the gradient coil, so that a larger instantaneous output voltage can be obtained, the maximum gradient switching rate can be further improved, and the scanning time can be shortened. At this time, different maximum gradient switching rates can be obtained by configuring different second output voltages.

The above description is only for the purpose of illustrating the preferred embodiments of the present invention and is not to be construed as limiting the invention, and any modifications, equivalents, improvements and the like that fall within the spirit and principle of the present invention are intended to be included therein.