Patents Examined by Rishi Patel
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Patent number: 9678182Abstract: A magnetic resonance (MR) receiver is described herein. The MR receiver can be used to process nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) signals. The MR receiver includes a transformer that amplifies the MR signals and a preamplifier that receives the MR signals from the transformer. The preamplifier can include a transimpedance amplifier circuit with an input stage that includes a field effect transistor.Type: GrantFiled: March 14, 2014Date of Patent: June 13, 2017Assignee: SCHLUMBERGER TECHNOLOGY CORPORATIONInventors: Soumyajit Mandal, Shin Utsuzawa, Yi-Qiao Song
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Patent number: 9671480Abstract: The MRI apparatus includes an image generating unit, an area setting unit, a slice condition determining unit and an imaging executing unit. The image generating unit images an object at a predetermined imaging position, and generates an image for positioning. The area setting unit sets a slab area and a slice area on a basis of a recommended value that is stored in a storage and corresponds to the predetermined imaging position, and to display the set slab area and the set slice area on the image for positioning, the storage storing the recommended value of a parameter concerning a slice condition for each of a plurality of imaging positions. The slice condition determining unit determines the slice condition on a basis of the slice area. The imaging executing unit executes an imaging of the slab area in accordance with the determined slice condition.Type: GrantFiled: December 27, 2012Date of Patent: June 6, 2017Assignee: TOSHIBA MEDICAL SYSTEMS CORPORATIONInventors: Mayumi Morinaga, Kazuhiro Sueoka
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Patent number: 9671482Abstract: An MRI method includes detecting movement of an object while a protocol is executed to capture an image of a region of the object, and outputting information indicating occurrence of the movement, based on a value of a movement amount.Type: GrantFiled: June 18, 2013Date of Patent: June 6, 2017Assignee: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.Inventors: Keum-yong Oh, Jun-ki Lee, Se-tae Kim
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Patent number: 9664766Abstract: A local coil with a plurality of magnetic resonance antenna elements and a plurality of test signal coupling units assigned individually or in groups to the plurality of magnetic resonance antenna elements is provided. In order to transmit a test signal, each test signal coupling unit of the plurality of test signal coupling units is connected via a star connection unit to a joint test signal connector and/or to a transmission cable of a transmit and/or receive chain of an assigned magnetic resonance antenna element of the plurality of magnetic resonance antenna elements.Type: GrantFiled: September 28, 2012Date of Patent: May 30, 2017Assignee: Siemens AktiengesellschaftInventor: Stephan Biber
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Patent number: 9658304Abstract: A motion-corrected magnetic resonance imaging method comprises: sequentially acquiring a plurality of interleaved magnetic resonance radial acquisition datasets using a magnetic resonance scanner; reconstructing each magnetic resonance radial acquisition dataset into a corresponding image to generate a set of images, the reconstructing including expanding radial k-space lines of the magnetic resonance radial acquisition dataset into corresponding radial bands in k-space using a generalized auto-calibrating partially parallel acquisition (GRAPPA) operator; selecting a reference image from the set of images; performing three-dimensional spatial registration of each image of the set of images except the reference image with respect to the reference image to generate a spatially registered set of images; and combining the spatially registered set of images to generate a motion corrected image.Type: GrantFiled: July 21, 2011Date of Patent: May 23, 2017Assignee: KONINKLIJKE PHILIPS ELECTRONICS N.V.Inventors: Wei Lin, Feng Huang
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Patent number: 9658358Abstract: Illustrative embodiments are directed to applying a nuclear magnetic resonance sequence to a substance within an inhomogeneous static magnetic field. Various embodiments include applying a series of refocusing pulses to the substance, each refocusing pulse in the series of refocusing pulses having at least two segments, and a total pulse duration less than or equal to approximately 1.414 times T180. Various embodiments can further include applying an excitation pulse to the substance in the inhomogeneous static magnetic field, where the excitation pulse generates an initial magnetization that is aligned with a refocusing axis produced by a refocusing cycle that is performed after the excitation pulse.Type: GrantFiled: December 27, 2011Date of Patent: May 23, 2017Assignee: SCHLUMBERGER TECHNOLOGY CORPORATIONInventors: Martin D. Hürlimann, Soumyajit Mandal, Van Mai Do, Yi-Qiao Song
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Patent number: 9658303Abstract: In a coil arrangement for nuclear magnetic resonance comprising a main coil (13), a shielding coil (14), and at least one correction coil (41), the function of which consists in forming a magnetic field gradient with eddy current properties which are as good as possible, the main coil (13) and the shielding coil (14) are electrically connected in series with the correction coil (41). The deviations of the residual field from the desired design generated by production tolerances are thereby modified by the correction coil in such a fashion that the long-lasting eddy currents are suppressed. This either reduces the waiting time that must lapse after a gradient pulse before a predetermined field homogeneity is achieved or e.g. the deviations from the desired field are minimized in imaging applications.Type: GrantFiled: February 20, 2013Date of Patent: May 23, 2017Assignee: Bruker BioSpin AGInventors: Schimun Denoth, Silvia Buttazzoni, Thomas Speck, Dirk Wilhelm
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Patent number: 9651638Abstract: A method and a control sequence determination device for determining a magnetic resonance system activation sequence are described. The magnetic resonance system activation sequence includes a multichannel pulse train with a plurality of individual HF pulse trains to be emitted in a parallel manner by the magnetic resonance system by way of different independent high-frequency transmit channels. In this process, a multichannel pulse train is calculated with a predefined target magnetization using an HF pulse optimization method, with optimization taking place with respect to a setpoint deviation of an HF local exposure value from an HF global exposure value. A method for operating a magnetic resonance system and a magnetic resonance system with the control sequence determination device are also described.Type: GrantFiled: April 14, 2011Date of Patent: May 16, 2017Assignee: Siemens AktiengesellschaftInventor: Dieter Ritter
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Patent number: 9651643Abstract: A transmit coil system of a magnetic resonance system is exposed to high-frequency transmit pulses so that atomic nuclei of a predetermined type of atomic nucleus of an examination object introduced into an examination volume are excited by the high-frequency transmit pulses to emit magnetic resonance signals. A gradient magnetic system is exposed to gradient currents during the exposure of the examination volume to the high-frequency transmit pulses so that gradient magnetic fields are superimposed on a basic magnetic field generated by a basic magnet in the examination volume. The gradient currents and the high-frequency transmit pulses are matched to each other such that the atomic nuclei are exclusively those with a velocity lying within or outside a predetermined velocity range. The excitation is independent of variations in the Larmor frequency of the relevant type of atomic nucleus caused by inhomogeneities of the basic magnetic field and/or by chemical displacement.Type: GrantFiled: August 23, 2012Date of Patent: May 16, 2017Assignee: Siemens AktiengesellschaftInventor: Hans-Peter Fautz
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Patent number: 9645211Abstract: A GRASE-type PROPELLER sequence called Steer-PROP is disclosed. This sequence exploits a serious of steer blips together with rewinding gradient pulse to traverse k-space. Steer-PROP improves the scan time by a factor of 3 or higher compared to FSE-PROPELLER, provides improved robustness to off-resonance effects compared to EPI-PROPELLER, and addresses a long-standing phase correction problem inherent to GRASE based sequences. Steer-PROP also enables intra-blade, inter-blade, and inter-shot phase errors to be separately determined and independently corrected.Type: GrantFiled: April 29, 2011Date of Patent: May 9, 2017Assignee: THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOISInventor: Xiaohong Joe Zhou
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Patent number: 9645207Abstract: An adjustable MRI head coil apparatus and MRI system include a fixture and a plurality of plates attached to the fixture. Each of the plurality of plates includes a plurality of RF receive elements arranged in a fixed orientation. The adjustable MRI head coil apparatus and MRI system also include an actuator mechanism configured to adjust the relative position of each of the plurality of plates in order to fit a variety of different patient head sizes.Type: GrantFiled: September 28, 2011Date of Patent: May 9, 2017Assignee: General Electric CompanyInventors: Victor Taracila, Miguel A. Navarro, Darren C. Gregan, Kolman Juhasz, Sarah G. Leversee, Fraser J. Robb
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Patent number: 9638771Abstract: A technique is provided to reserve large examination space in the tunnel type MRI apparatus, without increasing production cost nor reducing significantly irradiation efficiency and homogeneity in an irradiation distribution within an imaging region. The present invention provides an RF coil unit in which four partial cylindrical coils are placed with a gap therebetween in the circumferential direction inside a cylindrical RF shield, in such a manner that two pairs of the partial cylindrical coils are opposed to each other, and magnetic fields produced by the individual partial cylindrical coils are combined, thereby producing a circularly polarized wave field or an elliptically polarized wave field.Type: GrantFiled: July 25, 2011Date of Patent: May 2, 2017Assignee: HITACHI, LTD.Inventors: Yoshihisa Soutome, Yoshitaka Bito, Hiroyuki Takeuchi, Tetsuhiko Takahashi, Hisaaki Ochi, Hideta Habara
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Patent number: 9638775Abstract: A connecting device for a magnetic system of an imaging system includes a holding element for connection of the connecting device to a power supply connection of the magnetic system, and a connecting element for connection of the connecting device to a power supply cable for operation of the magnetic system. The connecting device also includes an oscillation damping device having a spring element. The oscillation damping device is operable to dampen oscillations of the magnetic system that act on the connecting device by way of the holding element, with respect to the connecting element.Type: GrantFiled: October 4, 2012Date of Patent: May 2, 2017Assignee: Siemens AktiengesellschaftInventors: Peter Dietz, Andreas Krug, Joerg Riegler
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Patent number: 9638777Abstract: A magnetic resonance method of electric properties tomography imaging of an object includes applying an excitation RF field to the object via a coil at a first spatial coil position (402), acquiring resulting magnetic resonance signals via a receiving channel from the object, determining from the acquired magnetic resonance signals a first phase distribution and a first amplitude of a given magnetic field component of the excitation RF field of the coil at the first coil position (402), repeating these steps with a coil at a second different spatial coil position (404), to obtain a second phase distribution, determining a phase difference between the first and second phase distribution, determining a first and a second complex permittivity of the object, the first complex permittivity comprising the first amplitude of the given magnetic field component and the second complex permittivity comprising the second amplitude of the given magnetic field component and the phase difference, equating the first complexType: GrantFiled: January 13, 2011Date of Patent: May 2, 2017Assignee: KONINKLIJKE PHILIPS N.V.Inventors: Tobias Ratko Voigt, Ulrich Katscher, Thomas Hendrik Rozijn, Paul Royston Harvey, Hanno Homann, Christian Findeklee, Eberhard Sebastian Hansis
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Patent number: 9625542Abstract: A local antenna device for transmitting magnetic resonance (MR) signals of a plurality of MR receiving antenna elements to an MR signal processing device is provided. The local antenna device includes a plurality of analog-to-digital converters for scanning the MR signals and converting the MR signals to digital MR data, and a plurality of transmitting antenna elements for wirelessly transmitting the digital MR data to the MR signal processing device by the emission of an electromagnetic field. The local antenna device includes a plurality of transmitting devices for triggering the transmitting antenna elements and a plurality of spacer elements that is arranged and embodied on the local antenna device such that at least a defined minimum emission spacing is produced between the plurality of transmitting antenna elements and articles adjoining the local antenna device in at least one direction of a principal axis of emission of the electromagnetic field.Type: GrantFiled: October 1, 2012Date of Patent: April 18, 2017Assignee: Siemens AktiengesellschaftInventors: Daniel Evers, Klaus Pistor, Florian Poprawa, Stefan Schwarzer, Markus Vester
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Patent number: 9625549Abstract: A method for producing an image of a subject with a magnetic resonance imaging (“MRI”) system, in which relative signal contributions from a plurality of different chemical species are separated, is provided. A plurality of different echo signals occurring at a respective plurality of different echo times are acquired with the MRI system and a signal model that accounts for relative signal components for each of a plurality of different chemical species is formed for each echo signal. Those echo signals containing errors, such as phase errors, magnitude errors, or errors indicative of a corrupted echo signal, are identified. The relative signal components for each of the plurality of different chemical species are then determined by fitting the echo signals with the signal model. Particularly, those echo signals identified as containing errors are fitted to the signal models in a manner that discards the error-containing information.Type: GrantFiled: April 19, 2011Date of Patent: April 18, 2017Inventor: Diego Hernando
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Patent number: 9615768Abstract: A high-quality image is obtained using a two-dimensional selective excitation method even if the static magnetic field is not uniform. Therefore, non-uniformity of a static magnetic field of a region to be focused in particular in a selective excitation region excited by 2DRF is measured, and a result of the measurement is reflected in an imaging sequence using the 2DRF. For example, a resonance frequency of magnetization obtained from the measurement result is set as an irradiation frequency of the 2DRF. In addition, a shim gradient magnetic field is applied so as to correct the non-uniformity of the magnetization obtained from the measurement result. These are applied only in the imaging sequence using the 2DRF, and an irradiation frequency and a shim gradient magnetic field set in a conventional method are used in other imaging sequences.Type: GrantFiled: September 16, 2010Date of Patent: April 11, 2017Assignee: HITACHI, LTD.Inventors: Takashi Nishihara, Hiroyuki Itagaki, Tomohiro Goto
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Patent number: 9618593Abstract: A computer-implemented method of performing magnetic resonance imaging with ultra-short echo time pulse sequences includes defining short T2 threshold limits for enhancement. A multi-echo ultra-short echo time response is acquired and a complex dataset is determined based on the multi-echo ultra-short echo time response. A plurality of phase components is identified from the complex dataset, wherein each phase component is associated with a T2 relaxation time within the short T2 threshold limits. A plurality of frequency components is also identified from the complex dataset, wherein each frequency component is associated with the T2 relaxation time within the short T2 threshold limits. Next, a magnitude dataset is derived from the complex dataset and a fitting algorithm is applied to the magnitude dataset to yield a plurality of magnitude components, wherein each magnitude component is associated with the T2 relaxation time within the short T2 threshold limits.Type: GrantFiled: March 18, 2014Date of Patent: April 11, 2017Assignee: Siemens Healthcare GmbHInventor: Ravi Teja Seethamraju
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Patent number: 9606209Abstract: Systems, methods, and devices for intra-scan motion correction to compensate not only from one line or acquisition step to the next, but also within each acquisition step or line in k-space. The systems, methods, and devices for intra-scan motion correction can comprise updating geometry parameters, phase, read, and/or other encoding gradients, applying a correction gradient block, and/or correcting residual errors in orientation, pose, and/or gradient/phase.Type: GrantFiled: August 24, 2012Date of Patent: March 28, 2017Assignee: KINETICOR, INC.Inventors: Thomas Michael Ernst, Oliver Speck
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Patent number: 9599581Abstract: Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) gas isotherm techniques to evaluate wettability of porous media, such as hydrocarbon reservoir rock, can include constructing a NMR gas isotherm curve for a porous media sample gas adsorption under various pressures. A hydrophobic or hydrophilic nature of the porous media sample can be determined using the NMR gas isotherm curves. A wettability of the porous media sample can be determined based on the NMR gas isotherm curve. The wettability can be determined for porous media samples with different pore sizes. In the case of reservoir rock samples, the determined wettability can be used, among other things, to model the hydrocarbon reservoir that includes such rock samples, to simulate fluid flow through such reservoirs, or to model enhanced hydrocarbon recovery from such reservoirs.Type: GrantFiled: March 14, 2016Date of Patent: March 21, 2017Assignee: Saudi Arabian Oil CompanyInventors: Hyung Tae Kwak, Ahmad Mubarak Al-Harbi