Ananda Kumar

Noise Figure Limits for Circular Loop MR Coils

Circular loops are the most common MR detectors. Loop arrays offer improved signal‐to‐noise ratios (SNRs) and spatial resolution, and enable parallel imaging. As loop size decreases, loop noise increases relative to sample noise, ultimately dominating the SNR. Here, relative noise contributions from the sample and the coil are quantified by a coil noise figure (NF), NFcoil, which adds to the conventional system NF. NFcoil is determined from the ratio of unloaded‐to‐loaded coil quality factors Q. Losses from conductors, capacitors, solder joints, eddy currents in overlapped array coils, and the sample are measured and/or computed from 40 to 400 MHz using analytical and full‐wave numerical electromagnetic analysis. The Qs are measured for round wire and tape loops tuned from 50 to 400 MHz. NFcoil is determined as a function of the radius, frequency, and number of tuning capacitors. The computed and experimental Qs and NFcoils agree within ∼10%. The NFcoil values for 3 cm‐diameter wire coils are 3 dB, 1.9 dB, 0.8 dB, 0.2 dB, and 0.1 dB, at 1T, 1.5T, 3T, 7T, and 9.4T, respectively. Wire and tape perform similarly, but tape coils in arrays have substantial eddy current losses. The ability to characterize and reliably predict component‐ and geometry‐associated coil losses is key to designing SNR‐optimized loop and phased‐array detectors. Magn Reson Med, 2009.

Modified Solenoid Coil That Efficiently Produces High Amplitude AC Magnetic Fields With Enhanced Uniformity for Biomedical Applications

In this paper, we describe a modified solenoid coil that efficiently generates high amplitude alternating magnetic fields (AMF) having field uniformity (≤10%) within a 125-cm3 volume of interest. Two-dimensional finite element analysis (2D-FEA) was used to design a coil generating a targeted peak AMF amplitude along the coil axis of ~ 100 kA/m (peak-to-peak) at a frequency of 150 kHz while maintaining field uniformity to >; 90% of peak for a specified volume. This field uniformity was realized by forming the turns from cylindrical sections of copper plate and by adding flux concentrating rings to both ends of the coil. Following construction, the field profile along the axes of the coil was measured. An axial peak field value of 95.8 ± 0.4 kA/m was measured with 650 V applied to the coil and was consistent with the calculated results. The region of axial field uniformity, defined as the distance over which field ≥ 90% of peak, was also consistent with the simulated results. We describe the utility of such a device for calorimetric measurement of nanoparticle heating for cancer therapy and for magnetic fluid hyperthermia in small animal models of human cancer.

Optimizing the Intrinsic Signal-to-Noise Ratio of MRI Strip Detectors

An MRI detector is formed from a conducting strip separated by a dielectric substrate from a ground plane, and tuned to a quarter‐wavelength. By distributing discrete tuning elements along the strip, the geometric design may be adjusted to optimize the signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) for a given application. Here a numerical electromagnetic (EM) method of moments (MoM) is applied to determine the length, width, substrate thickness, dielectric constant, and number of tuning elements that yield the best intrinsic SNR (ISNR) of the strip detector at 1.5 Tesla. The central question of how strip performance compares with that of a conventional optimized loop coil is also addressed. The numerical method is validated against the known ISNR performance of loop coils, and its ability to predict the tuning capacitances and performance of seven experimental strip detectors of varying length, width, substrate thickness, and dielectric constant. We find that strip detectors with low‐dielectric constant, moderately thin‐substrate, and length about 1.3 (±0.2) times the depth of interest perform best. The ISNR of strips is comparable to that of loops (i.e., higher close to the detector but lower at depth). The SNR improves with two inherently‐decoupled strips, whose sensitivity profile is well‐suited to parallel MRI. The findings are summarized as design “rules of thumb.” Magn Reson Med 56:, 2006.

Method to reduce non-specific tissue heating of small animals in solenoid coils

Purpose: Solenoid coils that generate time-varying or alternating magnetic fields (AMFs) are used in biomedical devices for research, imaging and therapy. Interactions of AMF and tissue produce eddy currents that deposit power within tissue, thus limiting effectiveness and safety. We aim to develop methods that minimise excess heating of mice exposed to AMFs for cancer therapy experiments. Materials and methods: Numerical and experimental data were obtained to characterise thermal management properties of water using a continuous, custom water jacket in a four-turn simple solenoid. Theoretical data were obtained with method-of-moments (MoM) numerical field calculations and finite element method (FEM) thermal simulations. Experimental data were obtained from gel phantoms and mice exposed to AMFs having amplitude >50 kA/m and frequency of 160 kHz. Results: Water has a high specific heat and thermal conductivity, is diamagnetic, polar, and nearly transparent to magnetic fields. We report at least a two-fold reduction of temperature increase from gel phantom and animal models when a continuous layer of circulating water was placed between the sample and solenoid, compared with no water. Thermal simulations indicate the superior efficiency in thermal management by the developed continuous single chamber cooling system over a double chamber non-continuous system. Further reductions of heating were obtained by regulating water temperature and flow for active cooling. Conclusions: These results demonstrate the potential value of a contiguous layer of circulating water to permit sustained exposure to high intensity alternating magnetic fields at this frequency for research using small animal models exposed to AMFs.

Optical imaging of green fluorescent protein markers for tracking vascular gene expression: a feasibility study in human tissue-like phantoms

Vascular gene therapy is an exciting approach to the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. However, to date, there are no imaging modalities available for non-invasive detection of vascular gene expression. We have developed an optical imaging method to track vascular gene expression by detecting fluorescent signals emitted from arterial walls following gene transfer. To investigate the feasibility of this new technique, we performed experiments on a set of human tissue-like phantoms using a common biological marker in gene therapy, the green fluorescent protein (GFP). The phantoms were constructed to mimic the arterial geometry beneath a tissue layer. Human smooth muscle cells transfected with GFP were embedded in a capillary tube in the phantom. Monte Carlo modeling of the phantom experiment was performed to optimize the performance of the optical imaging system. We compared the fluence rates among three types of light beams, including ring beam, Gaussian beam, and flat beam. The results showed that our optical imaging system was able to detect fluorescent signals up to 5-mm depth in the phantom, and that flat beam geometry would produce the optimum fluorescence remittance. This study provides valuable insights for improvements to the optical imaging system and refinement of the new technique to non-invasively detect/track vascular gene expression.

Development of a percutaneous optical imaging system for tracking vascular gene expression: a feasibility study using human tissuelike phantoms

Noninvasive tracking of vascular gene delivery and expression forms an important part of successfully implementing vascular gene therapy methods for the treatment of atherosclerosis and various cardiovascular disorders. While ultrasound and MR imaging have shown promise in the monitoring of gene delivery to the vasculatures, optical imaging has shown promise for tracking gene expression. Optical imaging using bioreporter genes like Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP), Red Fluorescent Protein (RFP) and Luciferase to track and localize the therapeutic gene have helped provide an in vivo detection method of the process. The usage of GFP and RFP entails the detection of the fluorescent signal emitted by them on excitation with light of appropriate wavelength. We have developed a novel percutaneous optical imaging system that may be used for in vivo tracking vascular fluorescent gene expression in deep-seated vessels. It is based on the detection of the fluorescent signal emitted from GFP tagged cells. This phantom study was carried out to investigate the performance of the optical imaging system and gain insights into its performance record and study improvisation possibilities.

Multi-spectral optical imaging of skin to diagnose malignant melanoma

Multi-spectral transillumination (MST) imaging facilitates the diagnosis and classification of melanoma by giving crucial information about the depth of invasion. The combined analysis of MST images can give information regarding the cell growth pattern within the lesion. In this study, an optical imaging device called the Nevoscope is used for the collection of MST images of skin and skin lesions. Skin is an inhomogeneous, multilayer tissue. Due to its inhomogeneity on the microscopic level, light entering the skin can be absorbed or scattered or can be reflected at the layer boundaries. The light remitted from the skin is collected by the Nevoscope to produce the MST images.