Device for sequential examination of a measurement object by means of MPI and MRI methods

A device for alternating examination of a measurement object by means of MPI (magnetic particle imaging) and by means of MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), the device comprising:

• a resistive drive field coil system for generating a drive field, said resistive drive field coil system having electrical feed lines;
• a resistive MRI gradient coil system;
• a main magnet coil system disposed around a z axis, said main magnet coil system having two coaxial partial coil systems that are arranged mirror-symmetrically with respect to a central plane running perpendicularly to the z axis through a first volume under investigation, said main magnet coil system generating a homogeneous field of at least 6th order for MRI operation within said first volume under investigation and a spatially strongly varying magnetic field profile for MPI operation within a second volume under investigation, wherein said first and said second volumes under investigation at least partially overlap, said spatially strongly varying magnetic field profile having field vectors which are different with respect to direction and/or magnitude at all spatial points and having a field magnitude zero at one spatial point;
• and
• a device for reversing a polarity of current through one of said partial coil systems, wherein said main magnet coil system is designed in such a fashion that it generates said homogeneous magnetic field in said first volume under investigation when polarities of said partial coil systems are the same and said spatially strongly varying magnetic field profile in said second volume under investigation when said polarities are opposite.