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5,818,319
Crozier et al.
Oct. 6, 1998
SYSTEMS
96/13045
5/1996 WIPO .
OTHER PUBLICATIONS
Corana A, Marchesi M, Martini C and Ridella S, 1987,
Brisbane, Australia
13:262280.
[22] Filed:
Dec. 21, 1995
[51] Int. Cl." ................................. G01W 3/00; HO1F 7/20
[52] U.S. Cl. .......................... 335/299; 335/216; 335/301;
324/319
[58] Field of Search ..................................... 335/216, 299,
335/301; 324/318320
[56]
References Cited
U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
3,569,823
4,398,150
4,587,504
4,689,591
4,701,736
4,833,410
4,890,082
4,949,043
3/1971
8/1983
5/1986
8/1987
10/1987
5/1989
12/1989
8/1990
Golay .
Barjhoux et al. .
Brown et al. ........................... 335/216
McDougall.
McDougall et al. .
Briguet et al. .
Fujita .
Hillenbrand et al. .
ABSTRACT
: s * et al.
said 287 Aio9s Lraiserai."
5,416,415
0304188
5-326197
2070254
2167190
2/1989
12/1993
9/1981
5/1986
650 -
r H
r=
---
E:#-.
rT---
| rt
zi
IH
500 |
I 550 |
450 F as
, I fle:
i
#+= #
5,818,319
Page 2
OTHER PUBLICATIONS
U.S. Patent
Oct. 6, 1998
R& & ),
Sheet 1 of 17
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U.S. Patent
Oct. 6, 1998
PRIOR ART
Sheet 2 of 17
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U.S. Patent
Oct. 6, 1998
Sheet 3 of 17
INPUT DATA
SHIM OR MAGNET DESIGN'?
ORIENTATION
|NITIAL VALUES OF
PERTURBATION
PARAMETERS AND CONSTRAINTS
CALCULATE FIELDS
CALCULATE HARMONICS
CALCULATE SHIELDING
CHOOSE ANNEALING
SHEDULE AND PARAMETERS
ANNEAL SYSTEM
UNTIL FROZEN
OUTPUT
WIRE POSITIONS
FINAL HARMONICS
AND SHIELDING WALUES
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26
U.S. Patent
Oct. 6, 1998
|NIALIZE
STRUCTURE
Sheet 4 of 17
36
RE-ARRANGE
SIRUCTURE
CALCULATE FIELD
HARMONICS/SHIELDING
AND WEIGHTED ERROR
ERROR N NO
SMALLEST
RE-ARRANGED
46
IS NO. OF
TRIES
ENOUGH2
DECREASE TEMPERATURE
ADAPT STEP SIZE
|NCREASE
TEMPERATURE
TEMPERATURE
RESTART2
60
FIG.4
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FIG.8
Sheet 8 of 17
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Sheet 9 of 17
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30
25
[] EQUAL WEIGHING
UNEQUAL WEIGHING
20
15
10
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Sheet 10 of 17
FIG.10A
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Sheet 11 of 17
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Sheet 12 of 17
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6
4.
%2
2
0
2
100
50
50
100
50
100
Z (mm)
2.0
0.0
C/
== -2.0
4.0
-100
50
Z (mm)
FIG. 11B
U.S. Patent
Oct. 6, 1998
Sheet 13 of 17
5,818,319
15
10
%2
5
Cr
E
== 0
5
10
200
-100
100
200
Z (mm)
15
on 10
== 5
0
5
200
100
Z (mm)
FIG. 1 1D
100
200
U.S. Patent
Oct. 6, 1998
40
20
Sheet 14 of 17
()
20
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-40
U.S. Patent
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Sheet 15 of 17
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200
200
400
200
Z (mm)
FIG. 13
200
U.S. Patent
Oct. 6, 1998
5.0
Sheet 16 of 17
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* 4.0
35.
f
II:
F 3.0
2.0
100
50
Z (mm)
FIG.14
50
100
U.S. Patent
Oct. 6, 1998
Sheet 17 of 17
5,818,319
650
600
_s 550
E
3.
* 500
450
100
200
Z (mm)
FIG.15
J00
400
5,818,319
1
MAGNETS FOR MAGNETIC RESONANCE
SYSTEMS
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
frequency for those nuclei, e.g., about 100 megahertz for "H
2
the formation of a multi-dimensional representation of the
NMR-responsive parameter under study.
Conventional superconducting magnet systems used for
NMR can be broadly classified as being of the horizontal or
the vertical type, with the horizontal type being more
commonly used for MRI applications and the vertical type
for MRS or high resolution applications. Vertical systems
are generally constructed from co-cylindrical, multi
winding solenoids of varying lengths, while horizontal mag
nets are generally constructed of multi-winding coils dis
tributed along the longitudinal axis of the magnet.
FIGS. 2A and 2B show typical constructions for conven
tional horizontal and vertical superconducting magnets. The
multi-winding primary coils are identified by the reference
number 22 in FIG. 2A; the multi-winding primary solenoids
are identified by the reference number 24 in FIG. 2B. As
discussed below, the present invention can be used with both
types of magnets.
In modern medical imaging there is a distinct and long
felt need for magnet systems which have a shorter overall
length. The typical patient aperture of a conventional MRI
machine is a cylindrical space having a diameter of about
0.60.8 meters, i.e., just large enough to accept the patients
shoulders, and a length of about 2.0 meters or more. The
patients head and upper torso are normally located near the
center of the patient aperture, which means that they are
typically about a meter from the end of the magnet system.
Not surprisingly, many patients suffer from claustropho
bia when placed in such a space. Also, the distance of the
patients head and torso from the end of the magnet system
means that physicians cannot easily assist or personally
monitor the patient during a MRI procedure, which can last
as long as an hour or two.
In addition to its affects on the patient, the length of the
magnet is a primary factor in determining the cost of a MRI
machine, as well as the costs involved in the siting of such
a machine. In order to be safely used, MRI machines, as well
as MRS and high resolution machines, often need to be
shielded so that the magnetic fields surrounding the machine
at the location of the operator are below FDA specified
exposure levels. By means of shielding, the operator can be
safely sited much closer to the magnet than in an unshielded
system. Longer magnets require more internal shielding and
larger shielded rooms for such safe usage, thus leading to
higher costs.
The critical problem in trying to make the magnet of a
NMR machine shorter (e.g., to make the overall length less
than about 1.5 meters) is keeping Bo uniform (e.g., keeping
the variation in Bo less than about 20 ppm before any
shimming of the basic field produced by the primary
magnet) over a large homogeneous region (e.g., a region
65
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4
The error function used in Simkin et al. was a unweighted
sum of field harmonics. The failure to included weighting
coefficients in this error function severally limits the use
fulness of the Simkin et al. approach. In accordance with the
present invention, it has been determined that it is the
relative contributions of the various spherical harmonics
making up the overall field which are critical in the design
of a magnet using simulated annealing. See Example 2
below. Such relative weighting is impossible with the
3
Magnetic Resonance, 6, 255273, 1994. The set of simul
taneous equations relate the properties of the coils making
10
15
20
25
30
40
45
55
system.
have not used the number of coils, the radial sizes of the
60
65
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5
shielding magnets having relatively large numbers of shield
ing coils, e.g., more than four shielding coils.
In accordance with the preferred embodiments of the
invention, magnets for magnetic resonance systems are
designed which have a length to diameter ratio of less than
1.5 and most preferably less than 1.2. In particular, super
conducting magnets are provided which have a short overall
length, e.g., less than about 1.5 meters and preferably less
than about 1.2 meters, and a substantially uniform Bo field,
e.g., less than about 20 ppm before any shimming is
performed, for a large homogeneous region, e.g., a region
6
FIG. 12 is a contour plot for a Z0 shim magnet designed
in accordance with the invention.
15
20
25
30
35
45
50
55
60
invention.
tion.
for each coil; and (4) the constraints on the system, e.g., the
invention.
40
the invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED
EMBODIMENTS
65
5,818,319
8
7
In the second step of the overall process (box 28 in FIG.
3; see also box 36 of FIG. 4), the initial guess is used to
calculate the field at selected field points within and around
the magnet. The field values outside the magnet are used to
(3)
function (see below). The field values inside the magnet are
(4)
2T
4+ (a
b n = i and m = j.
monic Functions with Applications, Metheun, London, 35 hand side of equation 5 is evaluated by Fourier transforming
1927; and M. Abramowitz and I. A. Stegun, Handbook of B2(u,(p) with respect to p for fixed u to give F(u), while the
As is known in the art, a spherical harmonic expansion of
a magnetic field expresses the field as a sum of orthogonal
terms. The most straightforward approach to obtaining a
spherical harmonic expansion of a magnetic field is to
determine the magnetic field at points on a spherical surface
40
45
where W., are the Gauss weighting factors for each point u
and the superscripts c and s refer to cosine and sine Fourier
transforms of the azimuthal data. The coefficients and, and
bn, can then be found by equating terms in expressions 4
and 6 to give:
50
(2)
60
tion.
from the magnetisocenter and P., (cos 0) are the associated 65 mented into 100 pieces. The above analysis was then used to
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9
10
10
673680.
20
25
30
35
puting the first term, the summation does not include (m,m)
=(nm'). Other factors can be included in the error function
if desired. The ky's provide relative weighting between the
various terms.
40
45
50
55
60
65
5,818,319
11
of a shim magnet, thereby reducing frequency shifts upon
shim activation, an important result which has proved dif
ficult to achieve with prior approaches to the design of shim
12
temperature. It is important that the temperature be reduced
magnets.
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
EXAMPLE 1.
65
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13
a specified minimum inner diameter of about 90 cm. The
weighting coefficients used in equation 8, the initial guess,
and the annealing schedule are set forth in Table 2.
FIG. 5 is a plot of the progress of the value of the error
function during the optimization process. This figure illus
trates the effectiveness of the procedure in reducing the error
in a practical number of iterations. It further illustrates the
acceptance of positive error excursions needed for the
location of a global minimum in the annealing process. It
should be noted that the annealing process was performed
only on half of the magnet, e.g., the right hand half, in view
of the magnets symmetry about z=0.
10
15
14
Two annealing procedures were performed for a super
conducting magnet of the type discussed in Example 1.
Table 4 sets forth the weighting coefficients used for the first
annealing procedure; for the second annealing procedure, all
the weighting coefficients were set equal to 1.0.
The results of this comparison are shown in FIG. 9, where
relative field strength is plotted along the vertical axis and
harmonic components along the horizontal axis. As can be
seen in this figure, the procedure using weighted coefficients
produced smaller strengths for the higher order harmonics
than produced by the unweighted procedure, as is desired.
The first procedure produced a Z2 harmonic whose
strength was greater than that produced by the second
procedure. This harmonic, however, can be easily nulled by
a shim magnet. Alternatively, further application of the
simulated annealing procedure of the invention can reduce
the magnitude of this harmonic without significantly cor
nated beforehand.
20
EXAMPLE 3
25
30
35
40
meterS.
45
EXAMPLE 4
55
Shim Magnet
FIGS. 11A to 11D show exemplary wire positions for
various shim magnets designed in accordance with the
invention. Dots in these figures indicate coils of maximum
EXAMPLE 2
Comparative Example
This example illustrates the importance of using a sum of
weighted spherical harmonics in the error function of the
simulated annealing procedure as opposed to using an
unweighted sum of such harmonics.
65
5,818,319
18
region (the homogeneous region) whose volume is greater
TABLE 3
DSV-45 cm
Harmonic
(ppm)
Z2
Za
2.1
0.19
Zs
Zio
Z12
Z14
coils are wound such that the current in at least one of the
1.9
3.8
4.5
2.9
Zo (@ 300 A)
10
0.45T
half length
560 mm
TABLE 4
k1 k2.0
kao
koo
ka
1.0
0.8
0.8
0.8
0.0
Weighting Factors
0.1
1.0
1.0
1.0
().0 0.0
25
Height
Radius
Coil #
(mm)
(mm)
Layers
Windings
1
2
3
4
5
6
591.9
630.1
634.2
675.5
644.1
682.3
975.4
781.5
465.3
440.2
156.1
172.3
9.1
13.7
16.9
31.3
16.1
17.6
4187
442
297
372
74
265
primary coils are wound such that the current in at least one
of the primary coils is in an opposite direction to the current
Number of
30
35
DSV-45 cm
Harmonic
(ppm)
Z2
Za
Zs
6.4
1.3
3.6
0.41
0.67
2.1
5.9
Zo (@ 300 A)
40
45
1.0T
ZO
Value
Z1
Value
in aime
(mT)
ZO
Z1
Z2
Z3
Z4
Z5
Z6
100.0
O
0.158
O
0.185
O
0.0206
50
Z2
Value
Z3
Value
Z4
Value
(mT)
(mT)
(mT)
(mT)
0.0
100.0
O
0.189
O
0.029
O
0.035
0.004
100.0
0.0007
0.146
O
0.017
O
0.135
O
100.0
O
0.12
O
0.104
O
0.297
O
100.0
O
0.085
All deconvolutions have been normalized to 100 for the dominant harmonic.
TABLE 6
Zs
Zio
Z12
Z14
55
60
than 1.5 meters, (ii) causing the current in at least one of the
1. A magnetic resonance system comprising a supercon- 65 in an adjacent primary coil, and (iii) causing the current in
ducting primary magnet which produces a magnetic field at least one of the primary coils to flow in the same direction
which is substantially homogeneous over a predetermined as the current in an adjacent primary coil so that the
5,818,319
19
20
CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION
PATENT NO.
DATED
: 5,818,319
: October 6, 1998
Page 1 of 1
Column 18,
Line 7, that the should read -- that (a) the -Line 9, coil, (iv) the should read -- coil, and (b) the -Line 11, coil, (v) the should read -- coil, (iv) the -Line 12, 1.5 meters, and (vi) should read -- 1.5 meters, and (v) -Line 26, such that the should read -- such that (a) the -Line 28, coil, (iii) the should read -- coil, and (b) the -Line 30, coil, (iv) the should read -- coil, (iii) the -Line 31, and (v) the should read -- and (iv) the -Line 49, claim 1 or 2 should read -- claim 1 or 3 -Column 19,
Line 8, configuration, (ii) should read -- configuration, and (ii) -Line 9, such that the should read -- such that (a) the -Line 11, and (iii) the should read -- and (b) the -Line 16, wherein (i) should read -- wherein the shielding coils are wound such that
(i) -Lines 18 and 19, (ii) the shielding coils are wound such that the current should read
-- (ii) the current --
JAMES E. ROGAN