Patents by Inventor Nicolas Freytag

Nicolas Freytag 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: 20240133985
    Abstract: An NMR apparatus having a magnet coil system for generating a homogeneous magnetic field comprises a superconducting magnet arranged within a vacuum vessel in the cold region of a cryostat, and a shim system containing shim elements arranged outside the vacuum vessel. The superconducting magnet has a first mechanical connection point to the vacuum vessel via a magnet suspension, and the shim system has a second mechanical connection point to the vacuum vessel via a positioning element. On at least one portion of a path along the vacuum vessel from the first connection point to the second connection point and/or on at least one portion of a path along the positioning element from the second connection point to the shim system, a regulating element for regulating thermally caused changes in length is arranged on the relevant path. Magnetic field homogeneity can thus be kept largely stable.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 19, 2023
    Publication date: April 25, 2024
    Inventors: Robert SCHAUWECKER, Pierre-Alain BOVIER, Michele ZAFFALON, Nicolas FREYTAG, Roger MEISTER
  • Publication number: 20240004004
    Abstract: The invention relates to an NMR probe head having a transceiver coil arrangement with a first transceiver coil for generating a first RF magnetic field B1, wherein the first transceiver coil comprises an electrical conductor having multiple windings about a longitudinal axis Z?, and wherein the electrical conductor of the first transceiver coil is designed as a strip-shaped conductor with a conductor width W that decreases at least twice and increases at least twice within each winding. The invention can provide an NMR probe head that has a transceiver coil that has maximum quality factor with simultaneous transparency to other RF magnetic fields that may be radiated.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 29, 2023
    Publication date: January 4, 2024
    Inventor: Nicolas FREYTAG
  • Publication number: 20240004005
    Abstract: A transceiver coil arrangement for an MAS NMR probe head has a first transceiver coil with a longitudinal axis Z? for generating a first HF magnetic field B1, the first transceiver coil having at least one solenoid-shaped section with an electrical conductor having a path width W and N?3 windings, wherein all windings run around the longitudinal axis Z? of the transceiver coil 1. The electrical conductor has a slope S and each half-winding is tilted at a tilt T relative to the longitudinal axis Z?, wherein T?0 for at least a portion of the half-windings. According to the invention, at least two of the following variables change over the course t of the length of the electrical conductor: Tilt T=T(t), slope S=S(t), conductor path width W=W(t), allowing the transceiver coil to be optimized to improve the homogeneous region.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 29, 2023
    Publication date: January 4, 2024
    Inventor: Nicolas FREYTAG
  • Publication number: 20240004012
    Abstract: An NMR probehead having a transceiver coil arrangement comprises at least one transceiver coil for generating an HF B1 magnetic field, the transceiver coil having a connection region and at least one electrical conductor portion with a forward winding portion that leads in a prespecified winding direction from the connection region to an axial end. A backward winding portion leads in the same winding direction, from the axial end to the connection region, with windings having a pitch P with the opposite sign to windings of the forward winding portion. The forward and backward windings, with the exception of crossover regions in which the forward and backward windings cross over each other, are arranged on the same cylindrical surface about a longitudinal axis Z?. With the invention, electric fields visible for the sample are reduced, together with other types of performance losses.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 29, 2023
    Publication date: January 4, 2024
    Inventor: Nicolas FREYTAG
  • Patent number: 11709214
    Abstract: A temperature-control system for an NMR magnet system. A permanent magnet arrangement (1) with a central air gap (2) generates a homogeneous static magnetic field inside the air gap. A probehead (3) transmits RF pulses and receives RF signals from a test sample (0). An H0 coil changes the amplitude of the static magnetic field. A shim system (4) in the air gap further homogenizes the magnetic field. A first insulation chamber (5) surrounds and thermally shields the permanent magnet arrangement and includes an arrangement (6) controlling a temperature T1 of the first insulation chamber. The shim system, the H0 coil and the NMR probehead are arranged outside the first insulation chamber in the air gap. A heat-conducting body (7) is arranged between the shim system and the H0 coil on one side and the permanent magnet arrangement on the other, thereby enhancing field stability and suppressing drift.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2022
    Date of Patent: July 25, 2023
    Assignee: BRUKER SWITZERLAND AG
    Inventors: Nicolas Freytag, Florian Helbing, Roger Meister, Michele Zaffalon
  • Publication number: 20220171004
    Abstract: A temperature-control system for an NMR magnet system. A permanent magnet arrangement (1) with a central air gap (2) generates a homogeneous static magnetic field inside the air gap. A probehead (3) transmits RF pulses and receives RF signals from a test sample (0). An H0 coil changes the amplitude of the static magnetic field. A shim system (4) in the air gap further homogenizes the magnetic field. A first insulation chamber (5) surrounds and thermally shields the permanent magnet arrangement and includes an arrangement (6) controlling a temperature Ti of the first insulation chamber. The shim system, the H0 coil and the NMR probehead are arranged outside the first insulation chamber in the air gap. A heat-conducting body (7) is arranged between the shim system and the H0 coil on one side and the permanent magnet arrangement on the other, thereby enhancing field stability and suppressing drift.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 17, 2022
    Publication date: June 2, 2022
    Inventors: Nicolas FREYTAG, Florian HELBING, Roger MEISTER, Michele ZAFFALON
  • Patent number: 10830845
    Abstract: A first radial bearing includes nozzles in the stator at a radius r1 and a bearing surface on a circular section of the rotor at a radius R1. A second radial bearing includes nozzles in the stator at a radius r2 and a bearing surface on the rotor at a radius R2. An axial bearing includes a nozzle in the stator and a bearing surface on an axial end of the rotor, which runs orthogonally to the rotation axis and has an outer radius R3. The second radial bearing is formed on an end section of the rotor, which has a smaller radius than or a radius that decreases away from the circular section, so that R2<R1 and r2<r1. The third bearing surface is formed on an end of the end section facing away from the circular section, so that R3?R2.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 10, 2020
    Assignee: BRUKER SWITZERLAND AG
    Inventors: Jevgeni Guidoulianov, Nicolas Freytag
  • Patent number: 10649047
    Abstract: An MAS NMR probe head arrangement has a stator (2) aligned along an axis of rotation (RA) to support a rotor (1), a stator mount (32), and a RF coil arrangement (21) to emit/receive RF pulses into/from the measurement substance (40) in the rotor. The stator mount has a stator bearing (41) into which the stator can be axially inserted and extracted. The stator, when inserted, passes through the RF coil arrangement (21), and can be fed through the RF coil arrangement (21). A mechanism fixes the stator axially in the stator bearing (41) when inserted. This arrangement enhances both ease of assembly and maintenance of the arrangement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 12, 2020
    Assignee: BRUKER SWITZERLAND AG
    Inventors: Nicolas Freytag, Fabian Kuehler, David Osen
  • Patent number: 10459044
    Abstract: A method for operating an NMR probehead (10) with an MAS stator (11) receiving a circular-cylindrical hollow MAS rotor (13) with an outer jacket. The MAS rotor is mounted on pressurized gas in a measuring position within the MAS stator via a gas supply device with a bearing nozzle (12?) and rotates about the cylinder axis of the MAS rotor at a rotation frequency f?30 kHz. During a measurement, a temperature control gas is blown by a temperature control nozzle (12) onto the outer jacket of the rotor at an angle ?<90° with respect to the longitudinal axis of the cylinder-symmetrical rotor. The flow speed of the temperature control gas corresponds in the nozzle cross section to at least half the circumferential speed of the outer jacket of the rotating rotor and to at most the speed of sound in the temperature control gas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2019
    Assignee: BRUKER BIOSPIN GMBH
    Inventors: David Osen, Armin Purea, Benno Knott, Fabian Kuehler, Florian Helbing, Alia Hassan, Jevgeni Guidoulianov, Nicolas Freytag
  • Patent number: 10422839
    Abstract: An HF coil assembly for generating independent alternating magnetic fields in an examination volume of a magnetic resonance apparatus is presented, the HF coil assembly comprising a first coil pair of saddle coils and a second coil pair of saddle coils, each saddle coil having longitudinal conductor elements and curved conductor elements arranged along a common lateral surface of a circular cylinder having a cylinder axis. Each coil pair comprises curved conductor elements and longitudinal conductor elements which are interconnected at a high frequency. The saddle coils also have diagonal conductor elements and/or bridge elements that connect the longitudinal and curved conductor elements. The coil pairs are opposite to each other relative to the cylinder axis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 24, 2019
    Assignee: BRUKER SWITZERLAND AG
    Inventors: Alia Hassan, Nicolas Freytag
  • Patent number: 10310034
    Abstract: A nuclear magnetic resonance coil configuration having at least one flat or cylindrical coil (18), through which current flows in operation, which coil generates a high-frequency magnetic B1 field at the location of a sample (16) which is oriented parallel to an x-axis, and which for the purpose of connection to a tuning network is connected to at least two electrical feed lines (11), through which in-phase currents flow in operation, and which generate a high-frequency magnetic B2 field in the sample (16), the orientation of which encloses an angle ? with the direction of the B1 field, is characterized in that the following applies for the angle ?: ?=180°±??, where ??<90°. In this way, a B1 field profile, which is as rectangular as possible and is particularly steep on both sides, can be generated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 6, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2019
    Assignee: Bruker BioSpin AG
    Inventor: Nicolas Freytag
  • Publication number: 20190154771
    Abstract: A first radial bearing includes nozzles in the stator at a radius r1 and a bearing surface on a circular section of the rotor at a radius R1. A second radial bearing includes nozzles in the stator at a radius r2 and a bearing surface on the rotor at a radius R2. An axial bearing includes a nozzle in the stator and a bearing surface on an axial end of the rotor, which runs orthogonally to the rotation axis and has an outer radius R3. The second radial bearing is formed on an end section of the rotor, which has a smaller radius than or a radius that decreases away from the circular section, so that R2<R1 and r2<r1. The third bearing surface is formed on an end of the end section facing away from the circular section, so that R3?R2.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 19, 2018
    Publication date: May 23, 2019
    Inventors: Jevgeni Guidoulianov, Nicolas Freytag
  • Publication number: 20190154770
    Abstract: An MAS NMR probe head arrangement has a stator (2) aligned along an axis of rotation (RA) to support a rotor (1), a stator mount (32), and a RF coil arrangement (21) to emit/receive RF pulses into/from the measurement substance (40) in the rotor. The stator mount has a stator bearing (41) into which the stator can be axially inserted and extracted. The stator, when inserted, passes through the RF coil arrangement (21), and can be fed through the RF coil arrangement (21). A mechanism fixes the stator axially in the stator bearing (41) when inserted. This arrangement enhances both ease of assembly and maintenance of the arrangement.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 19, 2018
    Publication date: May 23, 2019
    Inventors: Nicolas Freytag, Fabian Kuehler, David Osen
  • Patent number: 10295621
    Abstract: An HF resonator assembly generates at least two independent alternating magnetic fields in a test volume of a magnetic resonance apparatus. The HF resonator assembly includes a first pair of flat coils that form a first HF resonator and comprise electrical conductor portions that surround a planar surface portion. The flat coils are arranged on opposing sides of the test volume, on coil support plates that are mutually parallel and in parallel with the longitudinal axis. A second pair of flat coils forms a second HF resonator on second coil support plates. The projections of the planar surface portions of the flat coils in each of the first pair of flat coils and the second pair of flat coils overlap in part, but not completely, when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the respective planar surface portions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 21, 2019
    Assignee: BRUKER BIOSPIN AG
    Inventor: Nicolas Freytag
  • Patent number: 10261143
    Abstract: A probehead of an NMR-MAS apparatus includes a sample which has a rotation axis tilted by an angle ?>0 with respect to the z-axis. The angle ? can be adjusted about a target angle ?target by tilting around a tilt axis. The rotation axis has a fixed angle with respect to the probehead, and the NMR-MAS apparatus tilts at least part of the probehead to adjust the angle ?. The probehead has an outer contour K between an upper end and a lower end. For all z between the upper end and the lower end, a cross-section S(z) of the contour K exists parallel to the xy-plane with a width Q(z) in the x-direction. The width Q(z) is smaller at points away from z=0, such that Q(z1)<Q(0) and Q(z2)<Q(0) for z1<0 and z2>0.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2019
    Assignee: BRUKER BIOSPIN AG
    Inventors: Nicolas Freytag, Fabian Kuehler
  • Publication number: 20180120389
    Abstract: An HF resonator assembly generates at least two independent alternating magnetic fields in a test volume of a magnetic resonance apparatus. The HF resonator assembly includes a first pair of flat coils that form a first HF resonator and comprise electrical conductor portions that surround a planar surface portion. The flat coils are arranged on opposing sides of the test volume, on coil support plates that are mutually parallel and in parallel with the longitudinal axis. A second pair of flat coils forms a second HF resonator on second coil support plates. The projections of the planar surface portions of the flat coils in each of the first pair of flat coils and the second pair of flat coils overlap in part, but not completely, when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the respective planar surface portions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 26, 2017
    Publication date: May 3, 2018
    Inventor: Nicolas FREYTAG
  • Patent number: 9945654
    Abstract: A probehead of an NMR-MAS apparatus with a rotation axis (RA), which lies in an xz-plane, titled by an angle ?>0 relative to a z-axis. The angle ? is adjusted by tilting around a tilt axis (DA) parallel to the y-axis relative to a target angle ?target. An angle measurement apparatus (9) has a first sensor element (7), which, together with a second sensor element (8) generates sensor signals dependent on the amplitude B0 of the static magnetic field and the vectorial orientation between the magnetic field B0 and a sensitivity vector. Two sensitivity vectors have an angle 5°<?i<175° to the z-axis and an angle ?>10° to each other. The angle between the rotation axis and the z-axis can be measured precisely and reliably over a large range, providing a feedback signal for regulated adjustment or tracking of the angle ?.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2018
    Assignee: Bruker BioSpin AG
    Inventor: Nicolas Freytag
  • Publication number: 20180088190
    Abstract: A method for operating an NMR probehead (10) with an MAS stator (11) receiving a circular-cylindrical hollow MAS rotor (13) with an outer jacket. The MAS rotor is mounted on pressurized gas in a measuring position within the MAS stator via a gas supply device with a bearing nozzle (12?) and rotates about the cylinder axis of the MAS rotor at a rotation frequency f?30 kHz. During a measurement, a temperature control gas is blown by a temperature control nozzle (12) onto the outer jacket of the rotor at an angle ?<90° with respect to the longitudinal axis of the cylinder-symmetrical rotor. The flow speed of the temperature control gas corresponds in the nozzle cross section to at least half the circumferential speed of the outer jacket of the rotating rotor and to at most the speed of sound in the temperature control gas.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 28, 2017
    Publication date: March 29, 2018
    Inventors: David OSEN, Armin PUREA, Benno KNOTT, Fabian KUEHLER, Florian HELBING, Alia HASSAN, Jevgeni GUIDOULIANOV, Nicolas FREYTAG
  • Publication number: 20180003782
    Abstract: An HF coil assembly for generating independent alternating magnetic fields in an examination volume of a magnetic resonance apparatus is presented, the HF coil assembly comprising a first coil pair of saddle coils and a second coil pair of saddle coils, each saddle coil having longitudinal conductor elements and curved conductor elements arranged along a common lateral surface of a circular cylinder having a cylinder axis. Each coil pair comprises curved conductor elements and longitudinal conductor elements which are interconnected at a high frequency. The saddle coils also have diagonal conductor elements and/or bridge elements that connect the longitudinal and curved conductor elements. The coil pairs are opposite to each other relative to the cylinder axis.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 30, 2017
    Publication date: January 4, 2018
    Inventors: Alia HASSAN, Nicolas FREYTAG
  • Patent number: 9817096
    Abstract: A gradient coil system has a cylindrical section in a central region, which contains no conductor elements and has a maximum outer radius that is larger than a minimum inner radius of conductor elements of a main gradient coil. An outer radius of this cylindrical section is only insubstantially smaller or equal in size to a minimum inner radius of a shielding coil in this axial range. The free space in the center of the gradient coil system is used to insert a passive RF shield, whose radius in a central region becomes larger over a certain length than its radius in outer regions. The RF shield is constructed from at least three partial sections, which are electrically interconnected. The actively shielded gradient coil system maximizes the volume of the RF region without loss of gradient coil system performance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 14, 2017
    Assignee: Bruker BioSpin AG
    Inventor: Nicolas Freytag