Patents by Inventor Nicholas Aley

Nicholas Aley has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20240004009
    Abstract: The disclosure relates to a magnetic resonance imaging device comprising a main magnet, a gradient system including at least one gradient coil, a thermal bus structure, a shield structure arranged between the gradient system and the main magnet and a cryocooler including a cold head, wherein the shield structure is configured to reduce a transport of heat energy to the main magnet and wherein the main magnet comprises a magnet spacer configured for spacing individual coils of the main magnet, wherein the thermal bus structure comprises at least one thermal bus element extending through the magnet spacer for providing a thermal connection between the cold head of the cryocooler and the shield structure.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 29, 2023
    Publication date: January 4, 2024
    Applicant: Siemens Healthcare Limited
    Inventors: Adrian Mark Thomas, Simon Chorley, Nicholas Aley
  • Publication number: 20240004008
    Abstract: A magnetic resonance imaging device including a main magnet, a gradient system with at least one gradient coil, a cryocooler, a thermal bus structure, and an electromagnetic shield arranged between the gradient system and the main magnet. The electromagnetic shield includes spaced shield elements. The electromagnetic shield is configured to provide an electromagnetic shielding of the main magnet from a magnetic field generated by the at least one gradient coil. The thermal bus structure includes thermal bus elements configured to provide a thermal connection between the plurality of spaced shield elements and a cold head of the cryocooler. At least two thermal bus elements of thermal bus elements include different heat transfer properties to provide individualized temperature control of the spaced shield elements.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 29, 2023
    Publication date: January 4, 2024
    Applicant: Siemens Healthcare Limited
    Inventors: Stephan Biber, Nicholas Aley
  • Patent number: 10698051
    Abstract: A method for adjusting a magnetic field of a magnetic resonance tomography (MRT)-device having a magnet includes: transferring the magnet from an operating state to a non-operating state in a ramp-down mode; subsequently transferring the magnet from the non-operating state to the operating state in a ramp-up mode; observing a reference parameter different from the magnetic field; setting a target value for the reference parameter; comparing the observed reference parameter to the target value; and finishing the ramp-up mode when the reference parameter reaches the target value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 30, 2020
    Assignee: Siemens Healthcare GmbH
    Inventors: Nicholas Aley, Stephan Biber
  • Patent number: 10520567
    Abstract: For shimming a background magnetic field of a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus having an outer vacuum chamber (OVC) bore tube, a shimming arrangement has rails on the OVC bore tube and shim trays are mounted between respective rails.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 31, 2019
    Assignee: Siemens Healthcare Limited
    Inventors: Nicholas Aley, Neil John Belton, Martin Howard Hempstead, Marcel Kruip, Patrick William Retz
  • Patent number: 10444313
    Abstract: In a magnetic resonance apparatus and an operating method therefor, at least one limitation criterion, which describes the avoidance of excessive excitations in an interference spectrum in the magnetic resonance scanner of the apparatus, formed by an interference frequency or an interference frequency range, is specified by a limitation supply processor in order to check a scanning protocol, described by recording parameters, that is to be implemented. At least part of the temporal control sequence of the scanning protocol is determined as a pre-calculation sequence from the recording parameters by a simulation processor and the pre-calculation sequence is checked in a checking processor by the limitation criterion. Implementation of the scanning protocol is prevented when the limitation criterion is not fulfilled.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2019
    Assignee: Siemens Healthcare GmbH
    Inventors: Nicholas Aley, Stephan Biber, David Grodzki, Marcel Kruip
  • Publication number: 20190107591
    Abstract: A method for adjusting a magnetic field of a magnetic resonance tomography (MRT)-device having a magnet includes: transferring the magnet from an operating state to a non-operating state in a ramp-down mode; subsequently transferring the magnet from the non-operating state to the operating state in a ramp-up mode; observing a reference parameter different from the magnetic field; setting a target value for the reference parameter; comparing the observed reference parameter to the target value; and finishing the ramp-up mode when the reference parameter reaches the target value.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 2, 2018
    Publication date: April 11, 2019
    Inventors: Nicholas Aley, Stephan Biber
  • Patent number: 10107880
    Abstract: In a method and system for shutting down a superconducting magnet of a magnetic resonance apparatus using a monitoring processor and an energy store, the monitoring processor determines stored energy stored in the energy store at a first point-in-time, and determines a ramp energy required for shutting down, and determines a second point-in-time based on the stored energy and the ramp energy. At the second point-in-time, shutting down of the superconducting magnet is begun.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2018
    Assignee: Siemens Healthcare GmbH
    Inventors: Nicholas Aley, Stephan Biber
  • Publication number: 20180172787
    Abstract: In a method and system for shutting down a superconducting magnet of a magnetic resonance apparatus using a monitoring processor and an energy store, the monitoring processor determines stored energy stored in the energy store at a first point-in-time, and determines a ramp energy required for shutting down, and determines a second point-in-time based on the stored energy and the ramp energy. At the second point-in-time, shutting down of the superconducting magnet is begun.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 21, 2017
    Publication date: June 21, 2018
    Applicant: Siemens Healthcare GmbH
    Inventors: Nicholas Aley, Stephan Biber
  • Publication number: 20170285121
    Abstract: An arrangement for shimming a background magnetic field of a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus having an outer vacuum chamber (OVC) bore tube (1). Rails (8, 9) are provided on the OVC bore tube and shim trays (4) are mounted between respective rails.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 9, 2015
    Publication date: October 5, 2017
    Applicant: SIEMENS HEALTHCARE LIMITED
    Inventors: Nicholas ALEY, Neil John BELTON, Martin Howard HEMPSTEAD, Marcel KRUIP, Patrick William RETZ
  • Publication number: 20170269181
    Abstract: In a magnetic resonance apparatus and an operating method therefor, at least one limitation criterion, which describes the avoidance of excessive excitations in an interference spectrum in the magnetic resonance scanner of the apparatus, formed by an interference frequency or an interference frequency range, is specified by a limitation supply processor in order to check a scanning protocol, described by recording parameters, that is to be implemented. At least part of the temporal control sequence of the scanning protocol is determined as a pre-calculation sequence from the recording parameters by a simulation processor and the pre-calculation sequence is checked in a checking processor by the limitation criterion. Implementation of the scanning protocol is prevented when the limitation criterion is not fulfilled.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 15, 2017
    Publication date: September 21, 2017
    Applicant: Siemens Healthcare GmbH
    Inventors: Nicholas Aley, Stephan Biber, David Grodzki, Marcel Kruip