JPH08593A - Magnetic resonance tomography equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] The RF of the magnetic resonance tomography apparatus in which the cable pulled out from the RF coil does not become entangled with the subject.
A coil connector is provided. [Structure] Cable 4 led out from the opening of the gantry
a has a slack necessary for moving the top plate 2 and has a plug P
RF coil 6 for the head, which is connected to the
The cable 6d pulled out from the socket S is connected to the socket S, and the hook 5a of the plug P is inserted into the opening 8a of the receiving member 8 so that the connector 5 with the plug P joined to the socket S can be attached to and detached from the top plate 2. Supported by.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an RF coil connector of a magnetic resonance tomography apparatus (hereinafter referred to as MRI apparatus).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an MRI apparatus, for example, an apparatus shown in FIG. 5 has been known. This apparatus includes a gantry 100 that generates a static magnetic field in an opening 100a formed in the center thereof, a top plate 101 on which a subject M is placed, a top plate 101 that is raised and lowered, and a gantry 100.
And a bed 102 for moving the top 101 forward and backward with respect to the opening 100a. Then, at the opening 100a of the gantry 100, an RF coil that detects a nuclear magnetic resonance signal emitted from the imaging region of the subject M is arranged at the imaging region of the subject M. There are various types of RF coils for the head, spinal cord, knees, etc., depending on the imaging region of the subject M. Hereinafter, a specific description will be given.

(1) As shown in FIG.
When photographing the head of the head, the head RF coil 103 is attached to a predetermined position of the top plate 101. The RF coil 103 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, and the subject M
Is configured to insert the head of the. RF coil 1
The cable 103a pulled out from 03 is a top plate 101.
Is connected to a connector 104 attached near the insertion opening of the subject M of the opening 100a with a slack required for the movement of the. The cable 104a from the connector 104 is guided to the inside of the gantry 100 and connected to the signal processing unit 105.

(2) As shown in FIG.
When photographing the spinal cord, an RF coil (spine coil) 106 for spinal cord is provided between the top plate 101 and the back of the subject M.
Is attached. The cable 106 a drawn from the RF coil 106 is the head RF coil 103.
Similarly to the above, the slack necessary for the movement of the top plate 101 is provided and connected to the connector 104.

(3) As shown in FIG.
When photographing the knee part of the
An F coil (knee coil) 107 is attached.
The RF coil 107 is also formed in a substantially cylindrical shape similarly to the head RF coil 103, and is configured to insert the knee portion of the subject M into the cylinder. The cable 107a drawn from the RF coil 107 is also the head RF coil 1
Like 03, it has a slack necessary for the movement of the top plate 101 and is connected to the connector 104.

[0006]

However, the above-mentioned conventional device has the following problems. That is, in any of the cases described above, each RF coil 103, 10
Cables 103a, 10 drawn out from 6, 107
6a and 107a are provided with slack necessary for the movement of the top plate 101 and are connected to the connector 104 attached near the insertion opening of the subject M of the opening 100a, so that the cables 103a, 106a and 107a are connected. The position of the slack portion may not be suppressed, and the slack portion may hinder the movement of the top plate 101 or may become entangled with the subject M.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and various RFs according to the imaged region of the subject without the cable drawn out from the RF coil sticking to the subject. An object is to provide an RF coil connector for a magnetic resonance tomography apparatus that can be easily connected to a coil.

[0008]

In order to achieve such an object, the present invention has the following configuration. That is, the RF coil for detecting a nuclear magnetic resonance signal (NMR signal) emitted when the nuclear spins in the subject excited by the opening of the gantry for generating a static magnetic field return to the original state, and the RF coil. In a magnetic resonance tomography apparatus in which a signal processing unit that processes a detected NMR signal is connected via an RF coil connector, the connector allows a connector to mount a subject and enter the opening of the gantry. The cable, which is detachably supported by the cable, is led out from the signal processing unit, is guided into the gantry, and then is led out from the bottom side of the opening so as to have a slack necessary for moving the top plate. , Connected to the connector.

[0009]

According to the structure of the present invention, the cable pulled out from the signal processing section is guided into the gantry and then from the bottom side of the opening so that the slack necessary for the movement of the top plate is provided. Since it is connected to the RF coil via the connector, the slack part of the cable of the connector attached to the top plate is not compatible with the moving top plate when the top plate on which the RF coil is placed enters the opening of the gantry. Guided between the bottom of the opening and the slack of the cable, it does not obstruct the movement of the top plate.

Further, since the connector is detachably supported on the top plate, it is possible to connect to the RF coil arranged in the opening of the gantry by removing the connector from the top plate. That is, it is possible to easily replace the RF coil with various RF coils according to the imaging region of the subject.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an MRI apparatus of an embodiment according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a main part of the MRI apparatus.

This MRI apparatus is roughly classified into a gantry 1 having a substantially circular opening 1a formed in the center thereof, a top plate 2 on which a subject M is placed, and a top plate 2 supported and moved up and down. At the same time, the bed 3 is configured to move the top plate 2 forward and backward with respect to the opening 1a of the gantry 1. The configuration of each unit will be described below.

The gantry 1 is provided with a static magnetic field generating magnet, a gradient magnetic field coil, etc., which are not shown, in order to generate a uniform static magnetic field in the opening 1a. A signal processing unit 4 for processing an NMR signal detected by an RF coil, which will be described later, is provided below the insertion port of the subject M of the gantry 1, and a cable 4 a drawn from the signal processing unit 4 is provided.
Is guided to the inside of the gantry 1 and led out from an outlet 1b provided at substantially the center on the bottom side of the opening 1a. The led-out cable 4 a is connected to the plug P of the connector 5 with a slack necessary for moving the top plate 2. As shown in FIG. 2, a hook 5a is attached to the plug P such that its tip faces downward.

On the top surface of the top plate 2, the opening 1a of the gantry 1 is formed.
In FIG. 1, a head RF coil 6 for detecting an NMR signal emitted from the imaging region of the subject M is detachably installed. As shown in FIG. 2, the RF coil 6 is configured as a basket having an opening 6c by a pair of ring-shaped support members 6a and a plurality of connecting members 6b connecting the pair of support members 6a. There is. The opening 6c is the top plate 2
Is detachably inserted into the headrest 2a attached to the. The cable 6d pulled out from the support member 6a on the side facing the gantry 1 is connected to the socket S of the connector 5.
It is connected to the. By inserting the above-mentioned plug P into the socket S, the NMR signal is transmitted to the signal processing unit 4.

A receiving member 8 is attached to a side surface 2b of the top plate 2 facing the gantry 1 so that an upper portion thereof is opened. By inserting the hook 5a of the plug P described above into the opening 8a of the receiving member 8, the connector 5 in which the plug P is joined to the socket S is supported by the top plate 2. The connector 5, the receiving member 8 and the hook 5a are each made of a non-magnetic material so as not to affect the static magnetic field of the MRI apparatus.

With the above configuration, the tomographic image of the head of the subject M is captured as follows. First, the subject M is placed on the top plate 2 so that the head of the subject M is stably supported by the headrest 2a of the opening 6c of the RF coil 6, and then moved back and forth to the opening 1a of the gantry 1. Raise the top plate 2 to the height possible.

Next, the top plate 2 is attached to the opening 1a of the gantry 1.
To enter. At this time, the slack portion of the cable 4a of the connector 5 mounted on the side surface 2b of the top plate 2 is guided between the moving top plate 2 and the bottom of the opening 1a, so that the slack portion of the cable 4a is There is no risk of obstruction during movement of the top plate 2 or entanglement with the subject M.

Next, a linear magnetic field for giving position information for tomographic image analysis is superposed on the static magnetic field generated by the static magnetic field generating magnet by the gradient magnetic field coil. Then, a high-frequency pulse is generated by the high-frequency pulse generator to excite nuclear magnetic resonance in the subject M, and the RF coil 6 receives the NMR signal generated thereafter. Finally, the N received by the RF coil 6
A tomographic image of the imaging region of the subject M is created based on the MR signal.

As described above, the cable 4a led out from the gantry 1 side is connected to the head RF coil 6 with a length necessary for moving the gantry 1 from the top plate 2, Even when the plate 2 is inserted into the opening 1a of the gantry 1, the cable 4a is entangled with the top plate 2 or the subject M
Do not wrap around. Further, since the connector 5 is configured to be attachable to and detachable from the top plate 2, it is possible to easily replace the RF coil 6 for head with the RF coil for spinal cord and knee. The case where the RF coil for spinal cord and knee is replaced will be described below.

The case where the RF coil for spinal cord is replaced will be described with reference to FIG. First, after removing the socket S from the plug P of the connector 5 and removing the head RF coil 6 from the top plate 2, the hook 5a of the plug P is removed from the opening 8a of the receiving member 8 and removed from the top plate 2. The plug P is connected to the connecting portion of the spinal cord RF coil 10, and the spinal cord RF coil 10 is attached to the opening 1a of the gantry 1 at a predetermined position. The position where the RF coil 10 is attached is on the bottom side of the opening 1a, and when the imaging region of the subject M placed on the top plate 2 comes directly above the attached RF coil 10, the RF coil 10 outputs the NMR signal. It is a position that can be received with high sensitivity.

As described above, by removing the connector 5 from the top plate 2, the head RF coil 6 is used for spinal cord R.
It can be easily replaced with the F coil 10. further,
When letting the top plate 2 enter the opening 1a of the gantry 1,
Since the slack portion of the cable 4a of the plug P connected to the spinal cord RF coil 10 is guided between the moving top plate 2 and the bottom of the opening 1a, the slack portion of the cable 4a is the top plate. There is no danger of being hindered when moving 2 or getting caught in the subject M.

Next, the case of exchanging the RF coil for the knee will be described with reference to FIG. First, after the head RF coil 6 is removed from the top plate 2 in the same manner as described above, the knee RF coil 11 is attached to the top plate 2 at a predetermined position, and the plug P is connected to the knee RF coil 11 connection portion. Connect to. Contrary to the above, the subject M is placed on the top plate 2 so that the legs of the subject M face the opening 1a of the gantry 1.

As described above, the head RF coil 6 can be easily replaced with the knee RF coil 11,
When letting the top plate 2 enter the opening 1a of the gantry 1,
Since the slack portion of the cable 4a of the plug P connected to the RF coil 11 for the knee is guided between the moving top plate 2 and the bottom of the opening 1a, the slack portion of the cable 4a becomes the top plate 2. There is no risk of hindering the movement of the robot or getting caught in the subject M.

Although the hook 5a is configured to be attachable to and detachable from the receiving member 8 in the above-described embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the connector 5 and the side surface 2 of the top plate 2 may be used.
Velcro tape may be attached to each of b and b so that they can be easily attached and detached.

[0025]

As is apparent from the above description, the RF coil connector of the magnetic resonance tomography apparatus of the present invention has the following effects. By removing the connector from the top plate, it is possible to easily replace the RF coil with various RF coils according to the imaging region of the subject. Further, when the top plate is advanced into the opening of the gantry, the slack portion of the cable of the connector connected to the RF coil is guided between the moving top plate and the bottom of the opening of the gantry. There is no risk that the slack in the cable will interfere with the movement of the top plate or entangle with the subject.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an MRI apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a main part of the MRI apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a case of an RF coil for spinal cord.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a case of a knee RF coil.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a conventional MRI apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 ... Gantry 2 ... Top plate 3 ... Bed 4 ... Signal processing part 4a ... Cable 5 ... Connector 5a ... Hook 6 ... RF coil for head 8 ... Receiving member 10 ... RF coil for spinal cord 11 ... RF coil for knee P ... Plug S ... Socket M ... Subject

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An R for detecting a nuclear magnetic resonance signal (NMR signal) emitted when an atomic nucleus spin in a subject excited by an opening of a gantry that generates a static magnetic field returns to a basic state.
In a magnetic resonance tomography apparatus in which an F coil and a signal processing unit that processes an NMR signal detected by the RF coil are connected via an RF coil connector, the connector places the subject on which the gantry is mounted. Is detachably supported by a top plate that enters the opening of the cable, and the cable pulled out from the signal processing unit is guided to the inside of the gantry,
A magnetic resonance tomography apparatus, characterized in that the magnetic resonance tomography device is led out from the bottom side of the opening and has a slack necessary for moving the top plate, and is connected to the connector.