An easily reproducible, hand-held, single-sided, MRI sensor.
Mason Greer1, Cheng Chen1, Soumyajit Mandal1
1Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA.
Journal of Magnetic Resonance (San Diego, Calif. : 1997)
|September 24, 2019
Summary
We developed a compact, portable, single-sided magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sensor. This accessible design uses 3D printing and printed circuit boards (PCBs) for easier construction and wider application.
Area of Science:
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
- Sensor Technology
- Portable Imaging
Background:
- Single-sided MRI sensors offer portability for diverse applications but are uncommon due to complex magnet arrays and custom RF/gradient coils.
- Current systems often require precision machining and difficult coil fabrication, limiting accessibility.
Purpose of the Study:
- To reduce the size and increase the accessibility of single-sided MRI sensors.
- To present a novel, easy-to-assemble, hand-held MRI sensor design.
Main Methods:
- Construction of a hand-held, single-sided MRI sensor using an easily assembled magnet array.
- Integration of RF and gradient coils, along with the matching network, onto printed circuit boards (PCBs).
- Utilization of a 3D-printed housing for simplified assembly.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated a compact and accessible single-sided MRI sensor design.
- Successfully implemented all coils directly on PCBs for optimized geometry and low-cost manufacturing.
- Acquired spin density-weighted and T1-weighted images of various samples.
Conclusions:
- The proposed design significantly enhances the accessibility and reduces the size of single-sided MRI systems.
- PCB-based coil integration offers a cost-effective and manufacturable solution for portable MRI.
- The developed sensor shows promise for widespread applications in medicine, QA, agriculture, and material science.
