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UQ Innovation Expo 2003 |
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ITEE Innovation Expo 2002 |
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ITEE Innovation Expo 2001 |
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| UQ Innovation Expo 2003 » Exhibits - by Industry Sector » Susan Ibell |
Modelling 2D Phased Array Receiver Coils
Exhibitor: Susan Ibell
Supervisor: Stuart Crozier
Research Group: Electromagnetics and Imaging
Industry Sector: Health / Medical Technology
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a widely used, relatively risk free imaging modality that utilises a combination of strong, static magnetic fields generated by a magnet system and radio frequency (RF) pulses generated from a transmitter coil. While the transmit pulses are generated from coils which surround the patient’s body, often the signals emitted from the body are received from smaller coils placed close to the region of interest. One common arrangement for the small receive coils is in a Phased Array, which can be designed for many applications including the spinal coils which are built into many MRI patient tables. The full possibilities of phased array coils have not been explored due to the complexity of the calculations involved and the number of possible coil combinations.
To assist with these calculations and assist with the design process a program which can complete the complex calculations and model the outputs has been developed. The more accurately the coils can be modelled and the more complex and realistic a simulated patient the more efficient a program will be as a development tool.
“The Field Calculator” has been developed to calculate the magnetic and electric fields generated in a phased array of coils containing 1 – 16, circular or rectangular coils. A number of layouts are available for the coils and parameters such as coil size and overlap between coils can be easily adjusted. Magnetic and Electric fields can be calculated for the static case. From the Electric Field results gained assumptions as to the operation of the coils can be made as the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) generated and therefore the clarity of the image is related to this field. Using the program and knowing the areas of interest within the body it is possible to undertake an initial study into possible coil combinations for best signal reception within the desired field-of-view (FOV) and imaging depth.