Abstract: The present invention provides several embodiments of methods of making magnetic resonance catheter coils which include employing a flexible electrically insulative base member, depositing an electrically conductive material on the base member in a predetermined pattern to create at least one pair of generally parallel electrically conductive coil elements which are electrically connected to each other. A catheter is provided over the coil assembly. In one embodiment, a second pair of generally parallel electrically conductive coil elements are provided in order to create a quadrature coil. In this latter embodiment, the electrically insulative base member may have the first pair of coil elements created on one surface thereof and a second pair on the other with the base member subsequently being deformed to create a tubular coil having one pair of coil elements on the outside and the other pair on the inside. In some embodiments, tuning and matching circuits and decoupling circuits may be provided.

Abstract: The invention provides a method of determining longitudinal spin relaxation time or imaging longitudinal spin relaxation time or producing images which substantially reflect longitudinal spin relaxation time contrast. The method includes establishing a main magnetic field with respect to a specimen and employing a plurality of magnetic resonance (MR) gradients to spatially encode magnetic resonance signals from at least one position within the specimen. A plurality of pairs of pulses including a first radio frequency (RF) pulse having a first predetermined flip-angle and second RF pulse having a second predetermined flip-angle, which is different from the first predetermined flip-angle, are employed. One of the first RF pulses is applied to the specimen to produce a corresponding first MR signal and first MR information is acquired from the first MR signal corresponding to the first RF pulse.

Abstract: The invention provides a method for magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopic analysis of the interior of a specimen which includes positioning the specimen within a main magnetic field, introducing an invasive probe having an elongated receiver coil into or adjacent to the specimen with the coil having at least one pair of elongated electrical conductors, preferably, generally parallel to each other disposed within a dielectric material and having a pair of ends electrically connected to each other. RF pulses are provided to the region of interest to excite magnetic resonance signals, gradient magnetic pulses are applied to the region of interest with the receiver coil receiving magnetic resonance signals and emitting responsive output signals which may be processed by a computer to provide image information for display in a desired manner.

Abstract: An improved method of assaying local metabolite concentrations the chemical entity (CE) of interest, of a living subject by non-invasive means using magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy employs acquiring an MR response signal for a naturally occurring, abundant marker material of known concentration, such as water (H.sub.2 O) from the subject. An MR response signal is also acquired from the CE being assayed, e.g., adenosine triphosphate (ATP) with phosphorus (.sup.31 P) nuclei producing the MR response signal. The subject is replaced with a test phantom having a known concentration of the marker material and a reference concentration standard (e.g., phosphate) having the same resonant nuclei as the CE. Both sets of MR response signals are again acquired. The volume of tissue contributing to the CE MR response signal in the subject is deduced from the ratios of marker material MR response signals from the subject and phantom and the known concentration of the test phantom.

Abstract: A magnetic resonance (MR) active invasive device system employs a radio-frequency (RF) coil embedded in an invasive device for the purpose of generating MR angiograms of a selected blood vessels. A subject is first placed in a polarizing magnetic field. The invasive device is then placed into a selected blood vessel of the subject such that the RF coil of the invasive device is located at or near the root of a vessel tree desired to be imaged. The RF coil is then used to alter the nuclear spin magnetization of blood flowing within the vessel. This is done by employing an RF excitation signal to the coil at the Larmor frequency of the blood. The nutation of spin magnetization can change the amount of longitudinal spin magnetization or the Amount of magnetization in the transverse plane. Because the size of the radio-frequency coil in the invasive device is small, the change in spin magnetization is limited to blood flowing by the invasive device.

Abstract: A method for providing information about the rate of a selected chemical reaction in each of at least one selected volume elements (voxels) in a sample includes the steps of: exciting a reaction-rate-dependent chemical-shift spectrum, by a selected stimulus (such as one of saturation-transfer and inversion-transfer RF signal pulses) to label the NMR signal of a first reaction constituent; spatially localizing the NMR response signal, provided by the excited resonance, to a selected voxel within the sample; and acquiring and processing the NMR response data from the localized voxel. The excitation, localization and data acquisition subsequences are repeated to generate data substantially proportional, or equal, to the reaction rate constants in the selected voxels, and in planes and/or volumes thereof.

Abstract: An NMR system performs in vivo localized NMR spectroscopy. A two-dimensional selective RF excitation pulse is used to localize to a cylindrical region of interest, and either phase encoding or slice selective inversion is used to localize to a disk in the cylindrical region of interest. The two-dimensional selective RF excitation is performed in a series of pulse sequences rather than a single pulse sequence, and the resulting series of acquired NMR signals are summed together to substantially cancel signal conributions from outside the cylindrical region of interest.

Abstract: An NMR antenna probe has at least one substantially circular surface coil arranged in a plane and a surface coil having substantially a Figure-8 shape, substantially coplanar with the at least one circular surface coil. The Figure-8 coil has a cross-over portion which is located substantially coaxial with the axis of the at least one circular surface coil. The coil corresponding to the least-NMR-sensitive nucleus is circular, while the non-circular coil corresponds to the most-NMR-sensitive nucleus. The circular coil is positioned on the side of the NMR probe closest to the subject to be studied.

Abstract: A RF volume coil with optimized signal-to-noise ratio, for NMR use, has a reduced length L.sub.c, which is between about 0.3r.sub.s and about 1.5r.sub.s, where r.sub.s is the radius of a sample-to-be-investigated, contained within the cylindrical volume coil, with the volume coil radius r.sub.c being between about 1.0r.sub.s and about 1.6r.sub.s. the "short" volume coil has an improved SNR for a voxel located substantially on the central plane of the coil, relative to the SNR of a "normal"-lenth volume coil with L.sub.c .gtoreq.4r.sub.s.

Abstract: A method for NMR spectroscopy metabolite imaging utilizes the steps of: applying to a desired portion of a sample a pulsed phase-encoding linear magnetic gradient signal in at least one of the three orthogonal dimensions of a Cartesian coordinate set, prior to acquisition of free-induction-decay NMR response signals from the sample portion; substantially eliminating from at least the sample portion eddy current fields induced responsive to the phase-encoding gradient pulses; maximizing the signal-to-noise ratio of the NMR response signals; and displaying the data resulting from Fourier transformation of the received response data. A high-field NMR imaging system is provided with self-shielded gradient coils, to subsantially remove eddy-current effects, and at least one of maximized-SNR antenna, of quadrature-driven volume RF coil and/or surface RF coil types are utilized for both transmission of the excitation RF pulses and reception of the RF response signals.

Abstract: A single rotating NMR .pi. pulse provides simultaneous spatially-selective inversion or spin-echo refocussing of nuclear pins in two orthogonal dimensions. The two-dimensional spatially-selective pulse utilizes a single RF pulse, with either a square of an amplitude-modulated or a frequency-modulated envelope, and applied in the presence of an amplitude-modulated magnetic field gradient which reorients through the desired dimensions in which selection is desired while the RF pulse is present. These rotating, or ".rho.", pulses are useful for reduction of aliasing signal artifacts is restricted field-of-view high-resolution NMR imaging and, when combined with one-dimensional-localized chemical shift spectroscpoy techniques (such as those employing surface detection coils) is especially useful for the production of three-dimensionally localized NMR spectra.

Abstract: A uniform surface current density is approximated in an RF transmitting/receiving NMR coil by employing a plurality of discrete conductors having a resonantly distributed current. Inductive and capacitive lines provide a sinusoidal current distribution with various resonant modes providing different magnetic field orientations. The distributed current reduces losses. In a second order resonant mode, decoupling of the surface coil from a transmit coil is achieved without a blocking network.

Abstract: A method for acquiring an NMR spectroscopy response signal from a portion of a sample located in a voxel at the junction of three planar surfaces, each in a plane at an angle to the planes of the other two surfaces, first excites the sample with a localization subsequence which selects values for the surfaces in only two of the three dimensions, to evoke a chemical-shift spectrum from voxels substantially along a line at the junction of the two selected planes; and then provides a readout subsequence including a NMR signal portion spatially-selective in the third dimension and selected to limit the received spectroscopy response signal substantially to the voxel of interest. Any necessary cycling of sequences to improve spatial localization is provided in the two dimensions of the preliminary localization subsequence; phase cycling or alternation is not used in the selective RF pulse of the data acquisition subsequence.

Abstract: A magnetic resonance system for both imaging and spectroscopy of a sample of non-magnetic material (such as a portion of the human anatomy and the like) at one static magnetic field magnitude in excess of 0.7 Tesla (T), utilizes a superconducting magnet having a room-temperature bore of diameter sufficiently large to place therein not only the desired sample but also a set of gradient magnetic field-producing coils and at least one radio-frequency coil for exciting and/or receiving response signals from the sample to be examined. The entire magnetic system has suitably-small temporal and positional field variations to allow imaging to be accomplished at the resonant frequencies of nuclei including .sup.1 H, .sup.13 C, .sup.19 F, .sup.23 Na and .sup.31 P. The system includes a novel interface subsystem, itself including a novel gradient signal switching circuit, for acquiring imaging data in relatively short time intervals.

Abstract: A method for proton decoupling, nuclear Overhauser enhancement and/or in selective saturation magnetic resonance spectroscopy, particularly relevant to in vivo spectroscopic imaging, utilizes a radio-frequency pulse modulated with a truncated (sinc X)/X function capable of being windowed. The radio-frequency pulse is tuned to the frequency of the nuclear species, such as .sup.1 H, to be decoupled or saturated and has a bandwidth adjusted to correspond to the entire chemical shift spectrum of the nuclear species to be decoupled, minimizing the amount of radio-frequency power transmitted into a volume of the irradiated sample. Several methods, and several embodiments of apparatus, for forming the required radio-frequency pulse, are disclosed.

Abstract: Power line interference artifacts in a magnetic resonance image are minimized by the process of: providing a sequential plurality of imaging signal sequences, the totality of which sequences is required for determining the value of each image pixel in an image array thereof; requesting the start of each sequence of the plurality of imaging signal sequences prior to the actual time at which each such signal sequence should commence; preparing a recognition element prior to the desired actual commencement time; recognizing a predetermined occurrence of a repetitive power line signal parameter to provide a first signal; setting the recognition element responsive to the first signal to only then cause the signal sequence start request to actually cause commencement of the associated signal sequence; and causing each signal sequence to occur in essentially an integral number of sequential repetitive cycles of the power line signal waveform to minimize the magnitude of power line frequency signal interference artif

Abstract: Methods for overcoming transient magnetic field gradient inhomogeneity in a nuclear magnetic resonance imaging and/or nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging system, wherein the inhomogeneities are induced by the pulsed magnetic field gradients utilized in the imaging process itself, provide at least one correction pulse signal during, or after, any application of the desired magnetic field to the sample-to-be-investigated in the system. At least one of the pulse signal characteristics is adjusted to oppose and substantially cancel an error-producing portion of the total magnetic field gradient in a particular direction. The magnetic field gradient correction signal(s) can be applied: during a non-selective RF pulse; immediately subsequent to an initial gradient field application (either alone or coincident with a selective 180.degree. RF pulse); during acquisition of response signal data; or at any time to correct for inter-gradient cross-talk conditions.

Abstract: A radio-frequency coil, for nuclear magnetic resonance imaging at Larmor frequencies associated with a magnetic field of greater than about 0.5 Tesla, comprises a slotted-tube radio-frequency resonator having an elliptical cross-section. First and second complementary outer resonator portions have central bands connecting juxtaposed wing structures; the end of each of the four wings is spaced from a complementary wing portion of the other outer portion and capacitively coupled thereto. An inner structure has a pair of elliptical guard rings placed substantially in registration with the elliptical portions of the outer structure wing portions. The eccentricity ratio of the elliptical cross-section of the resonator and the resonator dimensions are arranged to provide an interior volume into which a human head or body extremity can be placed for imaging purposes.

Abstract: An NMR spectroscopy body probe is comprised of at least one surface coil, each coil having at least one turn and positioned adjacent to a first surface of an insulative member; an electric-field-reducing shield is fabricated upon the other surface of the relatively flexible substrate. The shield surface of the probe is to be positioned closest to the sample. A plurality of surface coil-bearing substrates can be stacked, one adjacent to the other with the planes thereof substantially parallel to each other and to the plane of the electric-field shield, and with each individual surface coil being separately tunable to a different nuclei species resonance frequency.

Abstract: A method for obtaining spatially resolved nuclear magnetic resonance chemical shift spectra, by depth-resolved surface coil spectroscopy (DRESS), substantially eliminates surface tissue contamination of the chemical shift spectra by employing selective excitation in the presence of a gradient magnetic field directed coaxial with the axis of a surface coil. The nuclei in a disk-shaped preselected volume are excited by a selective radio-frequency signal pulse applied in the presence of the gradient field. The surface coil is always utilized for receiving magnetic resonance response signals, while the same surface coil, or a separate transmitting antenna, can be used to provide the radio-frequency excitation field across the selected disk-shaped volume. The technique can be combined with conventional 90.degree.-.tau.-180.degree. or 180.degree.-.tau.-90.degree. relaxation time measurement RF pulse sequences, or with a solvent suppression NMR spectroscopy technique employing selective excitation.