Patents Examined by Tiffany Fetzner
  • Patent number: 10416266
    Abstract: In multi-echo imaging, in imaging in which pulses other than a 180° pulse are included in refocus RF pulses, a high-quality image in which the intended contrast is emphasized is obtained by reducing unnecessary contrast. Therefore, imaging parameters are adjusted so as to reduce the unnecessary contrast. The adjustment is performed so that, for echo signals from tissues having the same relaxation time to cause intended contrast among echo signals from a plurality of tissues having different relaxation times, the difference between the signal strengths of echo signals to determine the contrast, such as echo signals at the k-space center, is reduced. Imaging parameters to be adjusted include a repetition time, the FA of a DE pulse, the FA of a saturation pulse, the application timing of the saturation pulse, the application strength of a gradient magnetic field in a recovery period, application timing, and the like.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 13, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 17, 2019
    Assignee: HITACHI, LTD.
    Inventor: Shinji Kurokawa
  • Patent number: 10408651
    Abstract: A method for determining a pulse duration T90 of a 90° pulse in a nuclear magnetic measuring method. A signal generator has a known generator resistance RS, wherein a coil has a coil impedance ZL with a coil resistance RL and a coil reactance XL, wherein a coupling circuit has an adjustable matching capacitance CM and an adjustable tuning capacitance CT, and wherein the medium has a Larmor precession having an angular Larmor frequency ?P. The time needed for determining the pulse duration T90 of the 90° pulse is reduced by the matching capacitance CM and the tuning capacitance CT being set so that the angular resonance frequency ?0 corresponds to the angular Larmor frequency ?P and by power matching being present between the signal generator and the coil. The coil resistance RL is determined and the pulse duration T90 is determined as a function of the coil resistance RL.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2019
    Assignee: KROHNE AG
    Inventor: Rutger Reinout Tromp
  • Patent number: 10401456
    Abstract: A method of parallel MR imaging includes subjecting the portion of the body (10) to an imaging sequence of at least one RF pulse and a plurality of switched magnetic field gradients. The MR signals are acquired in parallel via a plurality of RF coils (11, 12, 13) having different spatial sensitivity profiles within the examination volume. The method further includes deriving an estimated ghost level map from the acquired MR signals and from spatial sensitivity maps of the RF coils (11, 12, 13), and reconstructing a MR image from the acquired MR signals, the spatial sensitivity maps, and the estimated ghost level map.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2019
    Assignee: KONINKLIJKE PHILIPS N.V.
    Inventors: Elwin De Weerdt, Zhaolin Chen
  • Patent number: 10401460
    Abstract: In a method and apparatus for recording a magnetic resonance dataset of a volume of interest of an object, at least one gradient moment is calculated as a function of at least one jump in susceptibility that is present in the volume of interest, between two sections of the volume of interest. An excitation pulse is radiated and at least one compensation moment is activated in a part volume of the volume of interest, for the at least partial compensation of a gradient moment caused by the jump in susceptibility. The signal generated by the excitation pulse is read out.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2019
    Assignee: Siemens Healthcare GmbH
    Inventors: Thorsten Feiweier, Josef Pfeuffer, Daniel Nico Splitthoff
  • Patent number: 10371763
    Abstract: Systems and methods for low power magnetic field generation for atomic sensors using electro-permanent magnets are provided. In one embodiment, a method for magnetic field generation for an atomic sensor comprises: laser cooling a sample of atoms in a chamber; and trapping the sample of atoms in a magneto-optical trap within the chamber by applying an atom trapping field across the sample of atoms using at least one pair of electro-permanent magnet units.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 17, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 6, 2019
    Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
    Inventor: Kenneth Salit
  • Patent number: 10371769
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus includes a static field magnet, a gradient coil, at least one radio frequency coil, a receiver and processing circuitry. The static field magnet, the gradient coil, the at least one radio frequency coil and the receiver are configured to acquire magnetic resonance signals from an object. The processing circuitry is configured to generate magnetic resonance image data based on the magnetic resonance signals. The receiver is configured to convert analog magnetic resonance signals received by the at least one radio frequency coil into digital magnetic resonance signals without a downconversion; separate the digital magnetic resonance signals into in-phase signals and quadrature-phase signals; and perform filter processing for removing noises of the in-phase signals and the quadrature-phase signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 6, 2019
    Assignee: TOSHIBA MEDICAL SYSTEMS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kazuyuki Soejima, Sojuro Kato, Makoto Hirama
  • Patent number: 10359490
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus includes a data acquiring part and a processing circuit. The data acquiring part is configured to acquire a magnetic resonance signal after applying an inversion recovery pulse or a saturation pulse. The processing circuit generates magnetic resonance examination data based on the magnetic resonance signal, by data processing including processing for compensating an incomplete inversion of a longitudinal magnetization resulting from an inversion efficiency of the inversion recovery pulse or processing for compensating an incomplete saturation of a longitudinal magnetization resulting from a saturation efficiency of the saturation pulse.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 23, 2019
    Assignee: TOSHIBA MEDICAL SYSTEMS CORPORATION
    Inventor: Shigehide Kuhara
  • Patent number: 10359492
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus includes an acquiring part and an analysis part. The acquiring part is configured to acquire magnetic resonance signals for an analysis by magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The analysis part is configured to perform correction processing of magnetic resonance signals for an eddy current correction and obtain a frequency spectrum of the magnetic resonance signals for the analysis by the eddy current correction using magnetic resonance signals after the correction processing. The correction processing removes an influence of a magnetic resonance signal component from a predetermined metabolite.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 23, 2019
    Assignee: TOSHIBA MEDICAL SYSTEMS CORPORATION
    Inventor: Masaaki Umeda
  • Patent number: 10359482
    Abstract: A method of acquiring an image in an MRI system includes dividing a scannable region of an object into regions, determining a coil to be used for the divided regions, receiving signals from the determined coil via signal channels connected to the determined coil and grouped by using a switching device, and acquiring the image from the received signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 23, 2019
    Assignee: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Hak-soo Chon
  • Patent number: 10359486
    Abstract: During operation, a system may apply a polarizing field and an excitation sequence to a sample. Then, the system may measure a signal associated with the sample for a time duration that is less than a magnitude of a relaxation time associated with the sample. Next, the system may calculate the relaxation time based on a difference between the measured signal and a predicted signal of the sample, where the predicted signal is based on a forward model, the polarizing field and the excitation sequence. After modifying at least one of the polarizing field and the excitation sequence, the aforementioned operations may be repeated until a magnitude of the difference is less than a convergence criterion. Note that the calculations may be performed concurrently with the measurements and may not involve performing a Fourier transform on the measured signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 23, 2019
    Assignee: Q Bio, Inc.
    Inventors: Jeffrey Howard Kaditz, Athanasios Polymeridis, Jorge Fernandez Villena, Deepak Ramaswamy, Jacob White
  • Patent number: 10353032
    Abstract: In some embodiments, an apparatus and a system, as well as a method and article of manufacture, may operate to measure nuclear magnetic resonance relaxation times in a fluid. Further activity may include determining a viscosity of the fluid based on at least one ratio of the relaxation times, and operating a controlled device based on the viscosity. Additional apparatus, systems, and methods are disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 16, 2019
    Assignee: HALLIBURTON ENERGY SERVICES, INC.
    Inventors: Magdalena Traico Sandor, Songhua Chen
  • Patent number: 10345251
    Abstract: A portable nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) device and a method of determining an oil concentration in water are disclosed. The portable NMR device can include a magnetic field assembly to carry out NMR measurements of water. The portable NMR device can include a housing to at least partly surround the magnetic field assembly and to substantially eliminate a magnetic fringe field generated by the magnetic field assembly outside the housing. The portable NMR device can also include an analysis module to receive the NMR measurement of the water and to determine, based on the received NMR measurements of the water, the oil concentration in the water.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 23, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2019
    Assignee: ASPECT IMAGING LTD.
    Inventor: Uri Rapoport
  • Patent number: 10345474
    Abstract: An anti-saturation device for a ground magnetic resonance signal amplifying circuit has a receiving coil connected with a band-pass filter circuit through a pre-amplifying circuit and a programmable amplifying circuit. The programmable amplifying circuit is connected with an AD acquisition card through the band-pass filter circuit. The band-pass filtering circuit is connected with a computer through the AD acquisition card, and the AD acquisition card is connected with an emitting system through the computer. An automatic amplification factor adjusting module is embedded into a nuclear magnetic resonance detector, and can also directly replace a receiving amplification circuit of the nuclear magnetic resonance detector to work independently.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2019
    Assignee: Jilin University
    Inventors: Tingting Lin, Yang Zhang, Xu Shu, Jun Lin, Ling Wan, Jing Zhao, Xin Cai
  • Patent number: 10292617
    Abstract: An animal handling system for use in a magnetic resonance device (MRD) device, including: a first elongated enclosure having a proximal end, a distal open end and a first geometry, and a second elongated enclosure having a proximal end, a distal open end and a second geometry. The first geometry comprises a first cross-sectional area that is larger than a second cross-sectional area of the second geometry. The first elongated enclosure is inserted into a first input port of the MRD device and the second elongated enclosure is inserted in a second input port of the MRD device diametrically opposite to first input port. The first elongated enclosure and the second elongated enclosure are inserted into the respective input ports, the second elongated enclosure slides into the first elongated enclosure through the open distal end of the first elongated enclosure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 2, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 21, 2019
    Assignee: ASPECT IMAGING LTD.
    Inventors: Uri Rapoport, Itzhak Rabinovitz
  • Patent number: 10281538
    Abstract: A warm bore cylinder assembly having an outer wall, an inner wall, and a plurality of braces is provided. The outer wall is configured to define an inner exterior portion of a cryostat assembly. The outer wall is generally cylindrical, is made of a conductive material, and has an outer wall thickness. The inner wall is disposed radially inwardly of the outer wall. The inner wall is generally cylindrical, is made of a conductive material, and has an inner wall thickness. The braces extend along an axial direction defined by the outer wall and the inner wall. The plurality of braces are interposed between and join the outer wall and inner wall. The plurality of braces define openings disposed between adjacent braces.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2019
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Jean-Baptiste Mathieu, Evangelos Trifon Laskaris, Kenneth William Rohling, Minfeng Xu, Seung-Kyun Lee
  • Patent number: 10267873
    Abstract: An apparatus for operation in a magnetic particle imaging mode for influencing and/or detecting magnetic particles in a field of view, and for operation in a magnetic resonance imaging mode, includes a selector having a selection field signal generator and selection field coils, a driver having a drive field signal generator and drive field coils for changing the position in space of the two sub-zones in the field of view by a magnetic drive field so that the magnetization of magnetic particles changes locally, and a focuser having a focus field signal generator and a focus field coil unit for changing the position in space of the field of view by a magnetic focus field.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2019
    Assignee: Koninklijke Philips N.V.
    Inventors: Bernhard Gleich, Juergen Erwin Rahmer
  • Patent number: 10222441
    Abstract: During operation, a system may apply an external magnetic field and an RF pulse sequence to a sample. Then, the system may measure at least a component of a magnetization associated with the sample, such as MR signals of one or more types of nuclei in the sample. Moreover, the system may calculate at least a predicted component of the magnetization for voxels associated with the sample based on the measured component of the magnetization, a forward model, the external magnetic field and the RF pulse sequence. Next, the system may solve an inverse problem by iteratively modifying the parameters associated with the voxels in the forward model until a difference between the predicted component of the magnetization and the measured component of the magnetization is less than a predefined value. Note that the calculations may be performed concurrently with the measurements and may not involve performing a Fourier transform.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2019
    Assignee: Q Bio, Inc.
    Inventors: Jeffrey Howard Kaditz, Athanasios Polymeridis, Jorge Fernandez Villena
  • Patent number: 10224676
    Abstract: A shielded connection line for a magnetic resonance tomography system includes a signal conductor, a shield for the signal conductor, and a plug-in connector. The plug-in connector has a large number of connection contacts that are arranged in a two-dimensional matrix and are electrically insulated from each other in the plug-in connector. The signal conductor is in galvanic contact with a first connection contact, and three second connection contacts adjacent to the first connection contact and surrounding the first connection contact are galvanically connected to the shield.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2019
    Assignee: Siemens Healthcare GmbH
    Inventors: Martin Hemmerlein, Wolfgang Kraus, Thomas Kundner
  • Patent number: 10215831
    Abstract: In a first method and magnetic resonance apparatus to determine a resonance frequency deviation given an excitation of a slice of a volume segment within an examination subject, by a slice selection gradient is activated along one direction, an RF excitation pulse is irradiated in order to excite nuclear spins in the slice, a readout gradient is activated along the direction of the slice selection gradient, and MR data are read out while the readout gradient is activated. Image points within an MR image reconstructed using the MR data are identified, that exhibit a signal intensity that is greater than a predetermined threshold, in order to determine one of the image points that has a maximum separation in the direction between this image point and the slice. The resonance frequency deviation is determined depending on the amplitude of the slice selection gradient, the amplitude of the readout gradient and the maximum separation. The slice selection gradient and the readout gradient have opposite polarity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 4, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2019
    Assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Theresa Bachschmidt, Mathias Nittka
  • Patent number: 10209324
    Abstract: A pressurizable holder for a sample to be examined by NMR, comprises a pressure retaining nonmagnetic tube surrounding a radio-frequency coil which in turn surrounds a space for the sample. The pressure retaining tube is formed of (i) nonmetallic electrically insulating material such as a ceramic or (ii) nonmetallic electrically insulating matrix material reinforced with electrically insulating filaments such as glass fiber, or (iii) non-metallic electrically insulating matrix material reinforced with electrically conductive filaments configured so that conductivity is anisotropic. There is good coil filling factor without constraint on wall thickness of the pressure retaining tube. Avoidance of isotropically conductive material inhibits eddy currents when an NMR spectrometer's magnetic field gradient coils are switched on and off. The tube resists hoop stress from internal pressure. Longitudinal stress is resisted by structure connecting end pieces at the ends of the pressure retaining tube.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 19, 2019
    Assignee: SCHLUMBERGER TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION
    Inventor: Edmund J. Fordham