Non-cylindrical cable balun design for RF coils

摘要

A non-cylindrical cable balun design having reduced space requirements and that provides for a lighter-weight RF coil is disclosed. The balun includes a balun shell having a non-cylindrical profile, a dielectric foam positioned within the balun shell so as to fill an interior volume defined by the balun shell, and one or more capacitors formed on the balun shell. A non-cylindrical coaxial cable that transmits electromagnetic signals to the balun extends through a length of the balun and is surrounded by the dielectric foam.

主权项

1. A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system comprising:
at least one magnet for generating a magnetic field; at least one gradient coil for manipulating the magnetic field generated by the at least one magnet by way of a gradient field; at least one radio frequency (RF) receiver coil to receive electromagnetic signals from the manipulated magnetic field; at least one balun in electrical communication with the at least one RF receiver coil to condition the received electromagnetic signals; and a coaxial cable to transmit the received electromagnetic signals to the at least one balun, the coaxial cable comprising a non-cylindrical coaxial cable; wherein each of the at least one baluns comprises:
a balun shell; anda dielectric material positioned within the balun shell and surrounding the non-cylindrical coaxial cable which extends through the balun; andone or more capacitors formed on the balun shell.