Abstract: A method of tracking position and velocity of objects' borders in two or three dimensional digital images, particularly in echographic images. A sequence is acquired of at least two consecutive ultrasound image frames of a moving tissue or a moving object. The frames are separated by a certain time interval. Reference points define a border of the moving tissue or object and the border is automatically tracked by estimating the position of the reference points in following image frames on the basis of the ultrasound image data of the acquired sequence of image frames.

Abstract: The invention relates to a Magnetic Resonance imaging apparatus having a cavity in which a body or a part of a body to be imaged can be housed and a patient support device (7), such as a patient bed, table or chair, comprising a patient supporting surface having such a size as to accommodate at least a part, particularly the whole of the patient body, which patient supporting means are mounted in a slidable way relatively to the cavity for housing the body to be imaged or a part thereof and enters together with the patient the said cavity, characterized in that the patient support device (7) comprises at least one, two, three or more receptacles (12, 307) for respectively housing and/or removably coupling a coil (13, 13?) adapted to receive signals from anatomic regions, upon excitation thereof by the Magnetic Resonance imaging apparatus, which one, two, three or more receptacles are arranged over the surface of said device in areas corresponding to the position of one, two, three or more anatomic regions to

Abstract: An exemplary method for correcting inhomogeneities of the static magnetic field generated by the magnetic structure of a machine for acquiring nuclear magnetic resonance images includes determining the number, the position and the magnetic moment of dipoles compensating inhomogeneities of the magnetic field to be positioned on a positioning grid such that a function is minimized. The total magnetic moment of compensation dipoles for compensating the magnetic field inhomogeneity can be minimized in addition to minimizing a norm of the difference between an inhomogeneity vector of each of the magnetic field components and the linear combination of effect vectors corresponding to the magnetic field component of compensation dipoles.

Abstract: The invention relates to a patient support device, for use with Magnetic Resonance imaging apparatuses, comprising a support surface (7) adapted to accommodate at least a part, particularly the whole of the patient body. According to the invention, this device comprises at least one, receptacles (307) for holding and/or removably coupling a coil (13?) adapted to receive signals from an anatomic region particularly from the spinal region, which receptacle (307) is arranged over the surface (7) of the patient support device in areas corresponding to the position of the anatomic region to be imaged. The invention also relates to a Magnetic Resonance imaging apparatus comprising a magnet structure (2) which delimits a cavity to receive at least a part of the patient body, in which an imaging volume is created. In accordance with the invention, the apparatus comprises a patient support device as defined in the invention and as described above.

Abstract: A magnet for a Magnetic Resonance Imaging apparatus, said magnet having at last two, preferably three open sides, and delimiting the patient receiving area, said magnet being composed of three yoke elements, i.e. two parallel magnetically permeable elements and one transverse yoke element for connection of said two parallel elements, whereby said magnet has a C shape and wherein, for both of said parallel elements, the terminal portion associated to said transverse connecting element has a transverse wall for connection of said two parallel elements with the transverse element, which has an end step for engagement of a corresponding end of said transverse element.

Abstract: A method for optimizing transmit and receive ultrasound imaging pulses generates transmit pulses from an array of transducers which are energized by excitation signals that are applied to each individual transducer of the array. Each of the excitation signals are individually weighted to optimize the transducers' contribution to a predetermined energy function. Such optimization may also be performed on the received pulses.

Abstract: The invention concerns a capacitive ultrasonic transducer, comprising an external layer operating as an external plate, provided with electrode means, capable to vibrate, and a stiff substrate, in turn provided with electrode means, wherein it further comprises n levels, with n?2, interposed between the plate and the substrate, each level including a plurality of cavities, and m interface intermediate layers, capable to vibrate, among said n levels, with m=(n?1), the cavities of each one of said n levels being further defined by support means connected between faced surfaces of layers adjacent to said cavities, each one of said m intermediate layers being provided with electrode means, whereby the cavities of each level are interposed between a pair of electrode means belonging to either two adjacent intermediate layers or to an intermediate layer and to one out of the substrate and the plate.

Abstract: A method for determining construction parameters of magnet structures designed to generate magnetic fields in predetermined volumes of space, comprising the steps of: a) defining a predetermined volume of space in which a static magnetic field is to be generated; b) defining the nominal strength and profile of the magnetic field in said predetermined volume of space; c) mathematically describing the nominal magnetic field on the surface of and/or in said predetermined volume of space by using a polynomial expansion of the magnetic field-describing function, which provides a series of coefficients; d) determining the size, geometry and relative position in space of the means for generating said nominal magnetic field, with respect to the volume of space in and on which the desired, i.e. nominal magnetic field, is defined.

Abstract: A new method is introduced to evaluate the flow through a constriction based on Doppler data and the principle of mass conservation. This principle, properly inserted within a combination of data rearrangements allows the extraction of the complete velocity field and the optimal evaluation of the flow through the constriction. The digital implementation of the method into electronic equipments, like an echographic machine, gives an additional capability of quantifying specific valvular flows and improves diagnostic potential.

Abstract: A method for automatically detecting and tracking the contour of an image that uses a class of filters, obtained from the first order absolute central moment. The method provides the steps of filtering a starting image through the absolute central moment e(n,m) of the intensity of a pixel of the image, being n and m the coordinates of each pixel, where the absolute central moment is obtained with the following steps: determining for each n,m the local mean calculated in a neighborhood about a pixel of coordinates n,m of the starting image, thus obtaining a first filtered image; determining for each n,m the sum of the absolute differences between the intensity of a pixel of coordinates n,m of the first filtered image and the intensity of all the pixels contained in a neighborhood about a pixel of coordinates n,m of either the starting image or a second filtered image obtained from the starting image.

Abstract: A needle-guide device, particularly for ultrasound probes, or the like, comprising a base body having means for connection to the probe and at least one elongated guide hole for receiving a needle-like surgical tool, characterized in that said needle-guide device, is made of at least two removably connectable parts, which are shaped in such a manner that each of them forms complementary parts of the peripheral delimiting wall of the elongated guide hole for the surgical tool which peripheral wall parts complete each other when said two parts, of the needle-guide device are connected, thereby forming an elongated guide hole for guiding the needle with a 360° covering delimiting wall.

Abstract: Method of magnetic resonance imaging comprising the steps of: exciting magnetic resonant (MR) active nuclei in a region of interest; creating magnetic field gradients in a phase-encode direction for spatially encoding the excited MR active nuclei; the number of phase-encode gradients producing a field of view corresponding to the region of interest; receiving radio frequency data from the region of interest using an array of at least two radio frequency receive coils, and producing from the radio frequency data an image by combining the images Si obtained from the radio frequency signals of the single coils Ci of the array by weighting the said images Si of each coil Ci with the sensitivity Bi of the corresponding coil Ci; an estimated sensitivity Bi (Fourier domain) of each coil Ci of the array being used, which is determined by applying a smoothing filter fi to the k-space data si received from each coil Ci.

Abstract: Method for correcting inhomogeneities of the static magnetic field particularly of the static magnetic field generated by the magnetic structure of a machine for acquiring nuclear magnetic resonance images provides to determine the number, the position and the magnetic moment of dipoles compensating inhomogeneities of the magnetic field to be positioned on a positioning grid such to minimize a function wherein even the total magnetic moment of compensation dipoles provided for compensating the magnetic field inhomogeneity is minimized in addition to minimizing said certain norm of the difference between the inhomogeneity vector of each magnetic field components and the linear combination of effect vectors corresponding to said magnetic field component of compensation dipoles.

Abstract: An ultrasonic imaging method is described, wherein a back propagation processing method is used. The invention provides a limited number of channels for processing the received signals, such that the which number of processing channels is a submultiple of the number of receiving transducers. During the imaging process, different groups of receiving transducers are connected to the transmitting channels such that the groups of receiving transducers include as many receiving transducers as the number of processing channels in use.

Abstract: A magnet structure for a Nuclear Magnetic Resonance imaging apparatus includes at least two opposing magnetic pole pieces, which are located at a certain distance from each other and delimit an imaging region. The pole pieces are formed by at least one massive layer of a magnetically permeable material, and at least one layer of magnetically permeable material having a pack of superimposed sheets or foils, electrically insulated from each other. Each of the sheets has cuts arranged over the surface of the sheet in positions that are at least partly non coincident with the cuts of at least one, or both adjacent sheets. The magnetically permeable sheets or foils have a first face and a second face and the cuts are so arranged on each sheet that the cuts of a sheet or foil are offset and not coincident with respect to the cuts of an adjacent sheet or foil, when said adjacent sheet is laid over the previous sheet in an overturned position, i.e.

Abstract: A magnet structure for a Nuclear Magnetic Resonance imaging apparatus includes at least two opposing magnetic pole pieces, which are located at a certain distance from each other and delimit an imaging region. The pole pieces are formed by at least one massive layer of a magnetically permeable material, and at least one layer of magnetically permeable material having a pack of superimposed sheets or foils, electrically insulated from each other. Each of the sheets has cuts arranged over the surface of the sheet in positions that are at least partly non coincident with the cuts of at least one, or both adjacent sheets. The magnetically permeable sheets or foils have a first face and a second face and the cuts are so arranged on each sheet that the cuts of a sheet or foil are offset and not coincident with respect to the cuts of an adjacent sheet or foil, when said adjacent sheet is laid over the previous sheet in an overturned position, i.e.

Abstract: Receiving coil for nuclear magnetic resonance imaging apparatus for spinal column images, where the apparatus has a supporting bench of the patient and an element for generating a static magnetic field perpendicularly oriented with respect to the supporting bench of the patient. The receiving coil is provided with at least two conductors useful for the detection extending in the direction of the positioning of the longitudinal extension of the spinal column and in the supporting bench or in a bench parallel to the supporting bench of the patient and have a length that is enough to cover approximately the anatomic district of the spinal column or a part of interest thereof, the distance of the two conductors being in the order of magnitude of the average width of the spinal columns and the two conductors being connected in such a way to have a coherent flowing direction of current.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for diagnostic imaging of a body part, by nuclear magnetic resonance, which method includes the steps of positioning the body part in a detection volume of a nuclear magnetic resonance imaging apparatus, inside a dedicated receiving coil; selecting the section or sections of said body part that has to be imaged and carrying out image detection by nuclear magnetic resonance; identifying and storing the detected images; and carrying out at intervals one or more subsequent image detections with nuclear magnetic resonance of the same body part and of the same section thereof as in the preceding image detections with nuclear magnetic resonance, positioning each time the body part in the same relative position with respect to the imaging volume of the nuclear magnetic resonance imaging apparatus.

Abstract: A method for determining the condition of an animate or inanimate object by magnetic resonance imaging, MRI, particularly for determining the pathologic condition of rheumatoid arthritis (“arthritis rheumatoides”) and carrying out a patient follow-up.

Abstract: A surface micromachining process for manufacturing Electro-acoustic transducers, particularly ultrasonic transducers, the transducers comprising a silicon semiconductor substrate (1), on an upper surface of which one or more membranes (18) of resilient materials are supported by a structural layer (11) of insulating material, rigidly connected to the semiconductor substrate (1), the resilient material having a Young's modulus not lower than 50 GPa, the membranes (18) being metallised, the transducers including one or more lower electrodes (23, 25), rigidly connected to the semiconductor substrate. The process is characterised in that the structural layer (11) includes silicon monoxide. The invention further relates to an Electro-acoustic transducer, particularly an ultrasonic transducer, characterised in that the insulating material of the structural layer (11) is silicon monoxide.