# US 10,481,225 B2 · Method and device for checking body coil of magnetic resonance imaging system

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- Number: US 10,481,225 B2
- Document ID: US10481225B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 15/086,851
- Filed: 2016-03-31
- Published: 2016-10-06
- Granted: 2019-11-19
- Earliest claimed: 2015-03-31
- Assignees: Siemens Healthcare GmbH
- Applicants: Siemens Healthcare GmbH
- Inventors: Juergen Nistler; Yu Tang; JianMin Wang; Zhi Gen Yang
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10481225B2

## CPC

- G01R 33/36: Electrical details, e.g. matching or coupling of the coil to the receiver
- G01R 33/34046: {Volume type coils, e.g. bird-cage coils; Quadrature bird-cage coils; Circularly polarised coils}
- G01R: MEASURING ELECTRIC VARIABLES; MEASURING MAGNETIC VARIABLES (indicating correct tuning of resonant circuits H03J3/12)

## Abstract

In a method and device for checking a body coil of an MRI system a current value of one or more parameters of the MRI system is acquired under a specific condition. The current value is compared with a reference value of the parameter to obtain a comparison result. A state of the body coil is determined according to the comparison result. The method for checking a body coil of an MRI system according to a particular embodiment of the present invention can replace onsite periodic maintenance inspection by a maintenance engineer, and also detect damage to the body coil at an early stage.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method for checking a body coil that transmits and receives radio-frequency (RF) signals in a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system having a patient table and an MRI measurement volume, said method comprising:
operating said MRI system with said body coil under predetermined conditions that comprise tuning said body coil so as to put said body coil in a tuned state with said patient table outside of said MRI measurement volume, and with said MRI system in a predetermined frequency range between +400 kHz and −400 kHz;
while said MRI system is operated under said predetermined conditions, acquiring a current value of a parameter, which represents operation of said body coil under said predetermined conditions, as a reflection coefficient and a coupling coefficient between at least two body coils of said MRI system;
providing said current value of said parameter to a computer and, in said computer, comparing said current value of said parameter to a reference value of said parameter, said reference value being selected from the group consisting of a value of said parameter exhibited by said body coil at a time of installation of said MRI system, and a value of said parameter that is set after said time of installation, in order to obtain a comparison result; and
in said computer, determining a state of said body coil dependent on a relationship of said comparison result to a threshold value, and emitting an electronic signal from the computer that represents the determined state of the body coil.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

A method as claimed in claim 1 comprising implementing said comparison to determine, as said comparison result, a difference between said current value and said reference value, and determining said state of said body coil dependent on a relationship between said difference and said threshold.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

A method as claimed in claim 1 comprising storing the comparison result and forming a change curve thereof that represents a change of said comparison result over time, and, in said computer, executing a predicting algorithm to predict a state of the body coil according to said change curve.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

A method as claimed in claim 3 comprising determining, in said computer, that said body coil is in a faulty state if said change curve shows that said comparison result is steadily increasing or steadily decreasing or steadily fluctuating.

### Claim 5

A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system, comprising:
a body coil that transmits and receives radio-frequency (RF) signals into and from an MRI measurement volume of the MRI system;
a patient table that is movable into and out of said MRI measurement volume;
a computer configured to operate said MRI system with said body coil under predetermined conditions that comprise tuning said body coil so as to put said body coil in a tuned state with said patient table outside of said MRI measurement volume, and with said MRI system in a predetermined frequency range between +400 kHz and −400 kHz;
said computer being configured to receive, while said MRI system is operated under said predetermined conditions, acquiring a current value of a parameter, which represents operation of said body coil under said predetermined conditions, as a reflection coefficient and a coupling coefficient between at least two body coils of said MRI systems;
said computer being configured to compare said current value of said parameter to a reference value of said parameter, said reference value being selected from the group consisting of a value of said parameter exhibited by said body coil at a time of installation of said MRI system, and a value of said parameter that is set after said time of installation, in order to obtain a comparison result; and
said computer being configured to determine a state of said body coil dependent on a relationship of said comparison result to a threshold value, and to emit an electronic signal from the computer that represents the determined state of the body coil.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

A device as claimed in claim 5 wherein said control computer is configured to implement said comparison to determine, as said comparison result, a difference between said current value and said reference value, and determining said state of said body coil dependent on a relationship between said difference and a threshold.

### Claim 7 (depends on 5)

A device as claimed in claim 5 wherein said control computer is configured to store the comparison result and forming a change curve thereof that represents a change of said comparison result over time, and to execute a predicting algorithm to predict a state of the body coil according to said change curve.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

A device as claimed in claim 7 wherein said control computer is configured to determine that said body coil is in a faulty state if said change curve shows that said comparison result is steadily increasing or steadily decreasing or steadily fluctuating.