1.School of Optical-Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai 200093, China 2.School of Medical Imaging, Shanghai University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Shanghai 201318, China 3.Shanghai Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Shanghai University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Shanghai 201318, China 4.Laboratory of Medical Imaging Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai 200093, China
Fund Project:Project supported by the National Grant Project for the Development of Major Scientific Instruments and Equipment(Grant No. 2013yq170463), the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission (Class II Plateau Disciplinary Construction Program for Medical Technology of SUMHS, 2018-2020), China, the Professional Development Project for College Teachers in Shanghai, China, and the Application-oriented Talents Demonstration Project of Medical-Educational Synergy (Industry-Education Integration) of SUMHS, China
Received Date:24 April 2019
Accepted Date:22 June 2019
Available Online:01 October 2019
Published Online:05 October 2019
Abstract:Uniformity of magnetic field is an important parameter of magnetic resonance system. Improving the uniformity of magnetic field is helpful for detecting the magnetic resonance time domain signal and improving the resolution of magnetic resonance frequency domain signal. Based on the idea of continuous current density distribution in an active shimming field, the shimming coil is designed by combining the target field point method with the current function method. That is to say, the relationship between magnetic field distribution and current density is determined by Biot-Savart law. After confining the coil radius and setting the constraint point, the current density distribution on the coil plane is inversely solved according to the target field distribution. Then the current density distribution is discretized by the current function, and the winding position distribution of the uniform field coil is obtained. According to the results of electromagnetic simulation, the first-order and second-order shimming coils are fabricated and applied to the magnetic resonance analyzer. The experimental results show that the shimming coils can effectively improve the magnetic field uniformity of the permanent magnet in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) system. Keywords:spherical harmonic function/ target field point method/ flow function/ shimming coil
如图1所示, 目标场及流函数结合的有源匀场线圈设计算法流程. 根据毕奥-萨伐尔定理, 采用目标场法和流函数结合的方式求解出线圈的绕线分布, 已知V, D的情况下, 关键在于如何通过方程$V_\alpha ^k = DU$, 求解出系数矩阵U, 方程求解的精度决定匀场线圈设计的成败[22]. 图 1 目标场及流函数结合的有源匀场线圈设计算法流程 Figure1. Design algorithm flow of active shimming coil based on target field and flow function.
为验证目标场及流函数结合的有源匀场线圈设计算法的有效性, 选取磁体的磁极间距为42 mm的核磁共振分析仪有源匀场线圈作为设计对象, 其工作区直径为27.5 mm球形工作区域, 设计3组有源匀场一阶线圈(X,Y,Z)以及4组二阶线圈(XY, XZ, YZ, Z2), 通过有源匀场线圈产生的磁场对主磁场进行补偿. 通过MATLAB实现有源匀场线圈设计仿真, 运行程序后输出7组匀场线圈的绕线分布, 如图2, 各阶次线圈的流函数和绕线分布 [24]. 图 2 各阶次线圈的流函数和绕线分布 (a) X, Y线圈的流函数和绕线分布; (b) Z线圈的流函数和绕线分布; (c) XY线圈的流函数和绕线分布; (d) XZ, YZ线圈的流函数和绕线分布; (e) Z2线圈的流函数和绕线分布 Figure2. Flow function distribution and coil winding of each order coils: (a) Flow function distribution and coil winding of X and Y coil; (b) flow function distribution and coil winding of Z coil; (c) flow function distribution and coil winding of XY coil; (d) flow function distribution and coil winding of XZ and YZ coil; (e) flow function distribution and coil winding of Z2 coil
4.实验讨论根据磁共振分析仪主磁场均匀性的调节原理, 主磁场越均匀, 磁共振的自由感应衰减信号(free induction decay, FID)的拖尾越长, 信号的积分面积越大, 信号的频谱越窄, 即信号频谱的半高宽(full width half maximum, FWHM)越小, 信号的分辨率越高. 如图3所示, 采用有源匀场线圈匀场前后磁共振检测的FID信号和频谱的FWHM, 设计实验如下: 采用长的横向弛豫时间(transverse relaxation time, T2)检测蒸馏水样品, 设置射频中心频率设置为17.02 MHz, 将通过算法仿真设计制作出的有源匀场线圈实物安装在核磁共振分析仪磁体两极上, 选择硬脉进行磁共振分析仪的FID信号采集. 图 3 采用有源匀场线圈匀场前后磁共振检测的FID信号和频谱的FWHM (a)有源匀场线圈应用于磁共振系统的实验平台; (b)匀场前FID信号; (c)匀场前频谱的FWHM; (d)二阶匀场线圈匀场后的FID信号; (e)二阶匀场线圈匀场后频谱的FWHM Figure3. FID signal detected by magnetic resonance before and after shimming with active shimming coil: (a) Experimental platform of active shimming coil applied to magnetic resonance system; (b) FID signal before shimming; (c) FWHM of the pre-shimming spectrum; (d) FID signal after the second-order shimming coil shimming; (e) FWHM of after the second-order shimming coil shimming