A compact 0.8T superconducting MRI magnet

✍ Scribed by E. Trifon Laskaris; Kenneth G. Herd; Bijan Dorri

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1994
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 337 KB
• Volume: 34
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0011-2275
• DOI: 10.1016/s0011-2275(05)80149-3

✦ Synopsis

A compact, cryogen-free 0.8T superconducting MRI magnet has been wound using Nb3Sn tape conductor and is maintained at 8K using a two-stage Gifford-McMahon refrigerator. The magnet is housed in a low eddy-current cryostat which incorporates a fiberglass-reinforced epoxy (FRE) vacuum enclosure with an integral stainless-steel permeation barrier, a composite copper/fiberglass thermal shield heat stationed to the first stage of the cryocooler, and a FRE magnet support structure heat stationed to the second stage of the cryocooler. The low eddy-current components eliminate the need to shield the gradient coils. The magnet components and the measured performance characteristics of the system are described in detail.