Hector Sanchez Lopez

Analysis of Transient Eddy Currents in MRI Using a Cylindrical FDTD Method

Most magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) spatial encoding techniques employ low-frequency pulsed magnetic field gradients that undesirably induce multiexponentially decaying eddy currents in nearby conducting structures of the MRI system. The eddy currents degrade the switching performance of the gradient system, distort the MRI image, and introduce thermal loads in the cryostat vessel and superconducting MRI components. Heating of superconducting magnets due to induced eddy currents is particularly problematic as it offsets the superconducting operating point, which can cause a system quench. A numerical characterization of transient eddy current effects is vital for their compensation/control and further advancement of the MRI technology as a whole. However, transient eddy current calculations are particularly computationally intensive. In large-scale problems, such as gradient switching in MRI, conventional finite-element method (FEM)-based routines impose very large computational loads during generation/solving of the system equations. Therefore, other computational alternatives need to be explored. This paper outlines a three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method in cylindrical coordinates for the modeling of low-frequency transient eddy currents in MRI, as an extension to the recently proposed time-harmonic scheme. The weakly coupled Maxwells equations are adapted to the low-frequency regime by downscaling the speed of light constant, which permits the use of larger FDTD time steps while maintaining the validity of the Courant-Friedrich-Levy stability condition. The principal hypothesis of this work is that the modified FDTD routine can be employed to analyze pulsed-gradient-induced, transient eddy currents in superconducting MRI system models. The hypothesis is supported through a verification of the numerical scheme on a canonical problem and by analyzing undesired temporal eddy current effects such as the B0-shift caused by actively shielded symmetric/asymmetric transverse x-gradient head and unshielded z-gradient whole-body coils operating in proximity to a superconducting MRI magnet

Equivalent Magnetization Current Method Applied to the Design of Gradient Coils for Magnetic Resonance Imaging

A new method is described for the design of gradient coils for magnetic resonance imaging systems. The method is based on the known equivalence between a magnetized volume surrounded by a conducting surface and its equivalent representation by a surface current density. The curl of a vertical magnetization vector of a magnetized thin volume is equivalent to a surface current density whose stream line defines a coil current pattern. This concept is applied to the design of gradient coils of arbitrary shape. The thin magnetized volume is discretized in small triangular elements. By calculating the contribution of each magnetized block at target points a field source matrix is obtained. The equivalent magnetization current concept is applied to obtain the equivalent coil impedance, force and torques. A quadratic programming optimization algorithm is used to obtain the stream-magnetization-thickness function value at each node such that coils of optimal performance are obtained. This method can be used for gradient coils wound on arbitrary surface shapes and can be applied to hybrid current/iron solutions. A variety of examples are shown to demonstrate the versatility of the method. A novel partially shielded 3-D biplanar gradient coil for open MRI magnets is presented.

Eddy current simulation in thick cylinders of finite length induced by coils of arbitrary geometry

Eddy currents are inevitably induced when time-varying magnetic field gradients interact with the metallic structures of a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner. The secondary magnetic field produced by this induced current degrades the spatial and temporal performance of the primary field generated by the gradient coils. Although this undesired effect can be minimized by using actively and/or passively shielded gradient coils and current pre-emphasis techniques, a residual eddy current still remains in the MRI scanner structure. Accurate simulation of these eddy currents is important in the successful design of gradient coils and magnet cryostat vessels. Efficient methods for simulating eddy currents are currently restricted to cylindrical-symmetry. The approach presented in this paper divides thick conducting cylinders into thin layers (thinner than the skin depth) and expresses the current density on each as a Fourier series. The coupling between each mode of the Fourier series with every other is modeled with an inductive network method. In this way, the eddy currents induced in realistic cryostat surfaces by coils of arbitrary geometry can be simulated. The new method was validated by simulating a canonical problem and comparing the results against a commercially available software package. An accurate skin depth of 2.76 mm was calculated in 6 min with the new method. The currents induced by an actively shielded x-gradient coil were simulated assuming a finite length cylindrical cryostat consisting of three different conducting materials. Details of the temporal-spatial induced current diffusion process were simulated through all cryostat layers, which could not be efficiently simulated with any other method. With this data, all quantities that depend on the current density, such as the secondary magnetic field, are simply evaluated.

An improved equivalent magnetization current method applied to the design of local breast gradient coils

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an important tool in the diagnosis of breast cancer. Increased gradient strengths and slew rates assist in terms of the potential to image with increased spatial and/or temporal resolution. Strong gradients also facilitate diffusion studies; one well-known method of increasing gradient strength is to design local gradient coils, those with reduced diameter where the gradient conductors are closer to the region of interest. In the case of breast imaging, this necessitates the use of coil geometries that lack the symmetry (e.g. cylindrical) required by some standard coil design techniques. Therefore a symmetry-free, inverse boundary element method (BEM) was employed to design a set of local breast gradient coils which would allow simultaneous imaging of both breasts. This BEM is a modified version of a previously reported equivalent magnetisation current method that now incorporates a piecewise-linear magnetisation rather than piecewise-constant. It is demonstrated that coil geometries more closely encompassing the sample shape, hence possessing wire windings located close the sample, produce superior coil performances. The use of two regions of interest instead one that covers the two samples produces superior high performance breast gradient coils. Additionally, it was demonstrated that this inverse BEM produced standard cylindrical coils with comparable properties and that the method is robust when challenged with difficult coil design problems in two other examples.

Minimax current density gradient coils: Analysis of coil performance and heating

Standard gradient coils are designed by minimizing the inductance or resistance for an acceptable level of gradient field nonlinearity. Recently, a new method was proposed to minimize the maximum value of the current density in a coil additionally. The stated aim of that method was to increase the minimum wire spacing and to reduce the peak temperature in a coil for fixed efficiency. These claims are tested in this study with experimental measurements of magnetic field and temperature as well as simulations of the performance of many coils. Experimental results show a 90% increase in minimum wire spacing and 40% reduction in peak temperature for equal coil efficiency and field linearity. Simulations of many more coils indicate increase in minimum wire spacing of between 50 and 340% for the coils studied here. This method is shown to be able to increase coil efficiency when constrained by minimum wire spacing rather than switching times or total power dissipation. This increase in efficiency could be used to increase gradient strength, duty cycle, or buildability. Magn Reson Med, 2012.

Multilayer integral method for simulation of eddy currents in thin volumes of arbitrary geometry produced by MRI gradient coils

This article aims to present a fast, efficient and accurate multi‐layer integral method (MIM) for the evaluation of complex spatiotemporal eddy currents in nonmagnetic and thin volumes of irregular geometries induced by arbitrary arrangements of gradient coils.

Simulation of Gradient-Coil-Induced Eddy Currents and Their Effects on a Head-Only HTS MRI Magnet

In this paper, we simulate the effects of eddy currents induced by switched gradient coils in the cylindrical cryostat structures of a high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnetic resonance imaging magnet. A novel network method was used with spectral decomposition of the current density in the φ- and z-directions to simulate the effects of X-gradient coils. Two types of active magnetic shielding were simulated, and it was found that one type is able to reduce the power of the eddy currents in the cryostat to a greater extent than the other. These results will inform the design of gradient coils that protect the HTS magnet from eddy-current-induced heating and vibrations.

Numerical Safety Study of Currents Induced in the Patient During Rotations in the Static Field Produced by a Hybrid MRI-LINAC System

MRI-LINAC is a new image-guided radiotherapy treatment system that combines magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and a linear particle accelerator (LINAC) into a single unit. Moving (i.e., rotating or translating) the patient inside the strong magnetic field of the split MRI-LINAC magnet can potentially induce high levels of electric fields and corresponding current densities in the conducting tissues. The prediction and assessment of patient safety in terms of electromagnetic field exposure have received very little attention for a split cylindrical MRI magnet configuration, especially in the vicinity of the gap region. In this novel numerical study, based on the quasi-static finite-difference method, rotation-induced electric fields and current densities are calculated considering a split 1-T magnet and a tissue-accurate 2-mm-resolution human body model. The patient was modeled in both axial and radial orientations relative to the magnet gap in a number of treatment/imaging scenarios. It was found that rotating the patient in the radial orientation produced an order of magnitude larger field exposure in the central nervous system than when the patient was rotated in the axial orientation. Also, rotating the patient with periods lower than about Trot = 43.3 s may result in field exposures above the limits set out in the international safety guidelines. The novel results of this investigation can provide useful insights into the safe use of the MRI-LINAC technology and optimal orientations of the patient during the treatment.

Evaluating passively shielded gradient coil configurations for optimal eddy current compensation

In magnetic resonance imaging, rapidly switching magnetic fields are used to spatially encode the signal. The temporal change of these fields induces eddy currents in nearby conducting structures of the scanner. These eddy currents, in turn, generate a secondary magnetic field that opposes and distorts the desired gradient field. Eddy current compensation methods are generally applied assuming that the primary and secondary magnetic field gradients possess similar spatial characteristics in the imaging volume (field matching). In this work an optimization method is used to deform the shape of the coil support and/or a highly conductive passive shield in order to improve the field matching and reduce the inductive coupling between the gradient coil and the passive shield. Using the residual field after eddy current compensation as the objective function, the coil support and/or conducting surfaces were deformed to obtain passively shielded x- and z-gradient coils with improved field matching and eddy current compensation. Assuming a single frequency, quasi-static simulation, it was demonstrated that the residual field was reduced up to 24 times by reshaping the coil and passive shield surfaces due to the improved field matching. However, using transient analyses we showed that in the case of the passively shielded x-gradient coil the residual field may only be reduced by five times from a cylindrical coil configuration. A bulge shape is created in the conducting surface as a mechanism of matching the field and at the same time reducing the mutual inductive coupling between the coil and the passive shield. An actively shielded coil with control over the magnetic field produced by the induced current was used as a reference coil that produces the minimal residual field. The actively shielded gradient coil produces minimal residual field for short and long pulses in the transient analyses.

Numerical prediction of temperature elevation induced around metallic hip prostheses by traditional, split, and uniplanar gradient coils

The paper presents a computational study for the estimation of the temperature elevation occurring in a human subject carrying metallic hip prostheses when exposed to the magnetic field produced by gradient coils.