Browsing by Subject "Parallel transmission"

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Open Access
Highly efficient 300 W modified class-E RF amplifiers for 64 MHz transmit array system
(2017-12) Tu Zahra, Fatima
The conventional MRI system uses high power linear RF amplifiers which are placed away from scanner room, have low efficiency, high cost and need a cooling system. We aim to use parallel transmit system with on-coil amplifiers that has shown to be advantageous in improving B1 field homogeneity, slice selectivity and SAR reduction. In this work the on-coil class-E RF switching amplifier is suggested for MRI to decrease the cost and complexity of the current system while improving performance. The amplifier is digitally controlled and for pulse generation purpose supply modulation is used. The transmit coil acts as the load network of the amplifier so the need for matching circuit is eliminated. The amplifier has an output power of 300 W with maximum efficiency of 92%. The efficiency does not drop below 75% in 1 MHz bandwidth. The performance of amplifier at high temperature is also evaluated and it is established that at low duty cycles due to high efficiency no cooling system is required but for high duty cycle applications a cooling system might be needed for the uninterrupted operation. The ultimate goal of this research is to design a 32-channel transmit array using on-coil amplifiers, as a step forward towards this goal a prototype for two channels is designed. Our results depict that the behavior of the class-E amplifiers under coupled operations is acceptable. The dual-channel prototype was tested on Scimedix 1.5 T and no artifacts were observed in the images due to the presence of amplifiers near transmit coils inside the bore. To sum up, the class-E amplifier is proved to be a favorable candidate for on-coil applications in RF excitation due to its small size, reduced complexity and high efficiency.
Open Access
A temperature sensor implant for active implantable medical devices for in vivo subacute heating tests under MRI
(John Wiley and Sons, 2018) Silemek, B.; Açıkel, V.; Oto, C.; Alipour, A.; Aykut, Z. G.; Algın, O.; Atalar, Ergin
Purpose: To introduce a temperature sensor implant (TSI) that mimics an active implantable medical device (AIMD) for animal testing of MRI heating. Computer simulations and phantom experiments poorly represent potential temperature increases. Animal experiments could be a better model, but heating experiments conducted immediately after the surgery suffer from alterations of the thermoregulatory and tissue properties during acute testing conditions. Therefore, the aim of this study was to introduce a temperature sensor implant that mimics an AIMD and capable of measuring the electrode temperature after implantation of the device without any further intervention at any time after the surgery in an animal model. Methods: A battery-operated TSI, which resembled an AIMD, was used to measure the lead temperature and impedance and the case temperature. The measured values were transmitted to an external computer via a low-power Bluetooth communication protocol. In addition to validation experiments on the phantom, a sheep experiment was conducted to test the feasibility of the system in subacute conditions. Results: The measurements had a maximum of 0.5°C difference compared to fiber-optic temperature probes. In vivo animal experiments demonstrated feasibility of the system. Conclusion: An active implant, which can measure its own temperature, was proposed to investigate implant heating during MRI examinations. Magn Reson Med 79:2824-2832, 2018.