US Patent:
20110260727, Oct 27, 2011
Inventors:
William F.B. Punchard - Sudbury MA, US
Kai-Ming Lo - Westford MA, US
Piotr M. Starewicz - Somerville MA, US
Hoby Hetherington - Woodbridge CT, US
International Classification:
G01R 33/32
Abstract:
The present invention is a portable in-bore shim coil insert suitable for correcting high-degree and high-order magnetic field inhomogeneities over a limited examination zone in a magnetic resonance assembly operating above 3 T magnetic field strengths, wherein the magnetic resonance assembly includes at least a MRI magnet having an internal bore of known configuration and volume, at least one set of gradient coils, and an arrangement of radio frequency coils. The in-bore shim coil insert and corresponding method of use is able to produce higher degree and order shimming effects on-demand (i.e., the correction of at least some 3to 6degree field terms or inhomogeneities) and will markedly improve the quality of in-vivo magnetic resonance spectroscopy and/or imaging of any desired anatomic site, i.e., any or all of the various organs, tissues, and systems present in the body of a living subject.