KR102045620B1 - Magnetic Resonance Imaging System for Ophthalmology with High-Resolution Eye Diagnosis - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an ophthalmic-only RF coil device and a head fixation device that can be used for capturing magnetic resonance images, as well as the morphological structure of the eye and the eye, as well as the optic nerve structure, and a magnetic resonance imaging system having them. RF coil unit in one aspect of the present invention comprises a support for fixing the head of the patient; An eye RF coil for acquiring magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of an eye region of a patient to which the head is fixed; And a pad for assisting the patient's eye area and the RF coil to be positioned in a non-invasive manner, wherein the RF coil is formed to be bent at least once along the eye area, and the pad is disposed at an end of the RF coil. It may be disposed and formed of a material having no influence on the magnetic field.

Description

Magnetic Resonance Imaging System for High Resolution Eye Diagnosis {Magnetic Resonance Imaging System for Ophthalmology with High-Resolution Eye Diagnosis}

The present invention relates to a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus for ophthalmic diagnostic high-definition ophthalmology. More specifically, the present invention relates to an ophthalmic-only RF coil device and a head fixation device, and a magnetic resonance imaging system having the same, which can be used to photograph magnetic resonance images, as well as the morphological structure of the eye and the eyeball, as well as the optic nerve structure.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a representative imaging technique that can measure the brain function of the human body, and provides structural images that provide various image contrasts to quantify the chemical composition of brain tissue, that is, brain metabolites. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) has been used in various ways.

Magnetic resonance imaging is one of imaging techniques that uses the principle of nuclear magnetic resonance. That is, when the human body is placed in a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus that generates a magnetic field and high frequency is generated, the hydrogen nuclei of the body resonate. The difference in the generated signal is measured, and the result of the measurement is reconstructed and imaged through a computer. Magnetic resonance imaging can be made.

Magnetic resonance imaging is characterized by being harmless to the body, unlike CT, which is harmful to the human body. CT has the advantage of being free in orientation while cross-sectional imaging is the main.

Magnetic resonance imaging is a technique that enables the imaging and quantitative evaluation of functional and metabolic pathophysiological characteristics that serve as biomarkers of various diseases as well as the anatomical structure of the human body. The importance of drug evaluation has emerged.

Magnetic resonance imaging-based diagnostic technique is based on the advantage of non-invasive acquisition of high resolution anatomical structure and physiological and functional information of various soft tissues of human body, and can be obtained from various optical equipment-based diagnostic techniques used for the diagnosis of eye diseases. Acquisition of unprecedented diagnostic information is increasing in importance in eye diagnosis.

A magnetic resonance imaging system using a magnetic field is known as a diagnostic system capable of obtaining high contrast / resolution for soft tissue and optic nerve tissue.

However, the magnetic resonance imaging system is configured to perform the examination by moving the patient lying on the cradle while the magnetic field is shielded by the shielding device at the time of diagnosis. You may be afraid of the diagnosis process.

In addition, in the conventional magnetic resonance imaging system, magnetic resonance imaging of eye and optic nerve tissue is incidentally acquired and used in diagnosis of tumors of the brain.

Therefore, it is necessary to develop a magnetic resonance imaging system for ophthalmology, which can easily and easily use magnetic resonance imaging at a lower cost, and can obtain and use a diagnostic image customized for a patient for ophthalmic diagnosis to determine the abnormality of tissues such as the optic nerve. It is becoming.

Korea Patent Office Registration No. 10-1666522

It is an object of the present invention to provide a user with a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus for ophthalmic diagnostic high-definition ocular.

Specifically, the present invention provides an ophthalmic-only RF coil device and a head fixation device, and a magnetic resonance imaging system having the same, which can be used to photograph magnetic resonance images, as well as the morphological structure of the eye and the eye, as well as the optic nerve structure. The purpose is to.

On the other hand, the technical problems to be achieved in the present invention are not limited to the technical problems mentioned above, and other technical problems that are not mentioned are clearly to those skilled in the art from the following description. It can be understood.

One aspect of the present invention for achieving the above technical problem is an RF coil unit support for fixing the head of the patient; An eyeball RF coil for acquiring a magnetic resonance image of an eyeball area of a patient having the head fixed thereto; And a pad for assisting the patient's eye area and the RF coil to be positioned in a non-invasive manner, wherein the RF coil is formed to be bent at least once along the eye area, and the pad is disposed at an end of the RF coil. It may be disposed and formed of a material having no influence on the magnetic field.

The RF coil may include at least one of a bird cage coil, a loop array coil, and a combined RF transmitter / receiver coil in which a receiving coil and a transmitting coil are integrally formed.

In addition, the support may further include a movable support for fixing the RF coil.

The apparatus may further include a flexible coil surrounding at least a part of the side of the RF coil.

The RF coil may be at least one of a goggle coil, an eye patch coil, a close coil, or a patient-specific coil.

In addition, the pad may compress the space between the eye area and the ear area of the patient to assist the eye area and the RF coil to be located close to each other.

On the other hand, the magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention for achieving the above technical problem, the inspection equipment body; An inspection case connected to one side of the inspection equipment main body and opened at an upper portion thereof by an opening / closing cover; Lifting means for lifting and lowering the test case; A cylindrical superconducting magnet installed in the test case to provide a magnetic field to the head of the patient; An RF coil unit installed adjacent to an eye region of the patient at an intermediate portion of the cylindrical superconducting magnet; It may be installed on the inspection equipment body of the lower portion of the superconducting magnet, the chair seated by the examinee.

In addition, the lifting means of the test case consists of a slide groove formed on one side of the test equipment main body and a slide rail attached to one side of the test case, the slide rail inserted into the slide groove is the slide groove by the lifting means It can be made to raise or lower within the inside.

In addition, the chair, the seat on which the lower body of the patient is seated; A backrest on which the upper body of the patient is seated; Armrests provided on both left and right sides in the central portion of the backrest; And a chair adjuster provided at a lower portion of the seat and a rear surface of the backrest, and capable of adjusting a height or an inclination angle of the seat and the backrest.

In addition, the RF coil unit when the head of the patient enters into the cylindrical superconducting magnet for the magnetic resonance imaging, may be such that the center line of the vertical height is located in the eyeball area of the patient.

The present invention can provide a high-definition ophthalmic diagnostic magnetic resonance imaging device to a user.

Specifically, the present invention provides an ophthalmic-only RF coil device and a head fixation device, and a magnetic resonance imaging system having the same, which can be used to photograph magnetic resonance images, as well as the morphological structure of the eye and the eye, as well as the optic nerve structure. can do.

In addition, the present invention enables the effective acquisition of the magnetic resonance image for the diagnosis of eye disease by the ophthalmic-only system, by using an excellent anatomical characteristics and various magnetic resonance imaging parameters compared to the conventional optical equipment-based diagnostic technology It is possible to acquire and fuse physiological and functional properties.

In addition, the present invention effectively obtains high-resolution anatomical image information and physiological / functional image information without signal attenuation and resolution reduction due to the inclusion of unnecessary image area by effectively limiting the magnetic resonance image acquisition area to the eye compared to existing head and neck magnetic resonance imaging equipment. Because it is possible to fuse, it can be effectively used in the ocular diagnosis area compared with the magnetic resonance imaging obtained with the existing head and neck system.

On the other hand, the effect obtained in the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned effects, other effects that are not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description. Could be.

1 illustrates an example of an RF coil unit of a high-resolution ophthalmic diagnostic magnetic resonance imaging apparatus proposed by the present invention.
Figure 2 shows an example of the RF coil unit of the high-resolution ophthalmic diagnostic magnetic resonance imaging apparatus proposed by the present invention.
Figure 3 shows an example of a high-resolution eye diagnostic magnetic resonance imaging apparatus proposed by the present invention.
FIG. 4 illustrates an example of an RF coil unit of a high-resolution ophthalmic diagnostic magnetic resonance imaging apparatus proposed by the present invention.
5A and 5B illustrate simulation results according to the RF coil unit described with reference to FIG. 4.
Figure 6 shows another example of the RF coil unit of the high-resolution ophthalmic diagnostic magnetic resonance imaging apparatus proposed by the present invention.
7A and 7B illustrate simulation results according to the RF coil unit described with reference to FIG. 6.

As the invention allows for various changes and numerous embodiments, particular embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the written description. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, it should be understood to include all transformations, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention. In the following description of the present invention, if it is determined that the detailed description of the related known technology may obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Terms such as first and second may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited by the terms. The terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another.

 The magnetic resonance imaging system is configured to carry out the examination by moving the patient lying on the cradle while the magnetic field is shielded by the shielding device at the time of diagnosis. You can feel fear about it.

In addition, in the conventional magnetic resonance imaging system, magnetic resonance imaging of eye and optic nerve tissue is incidentally acquired and used in diagnosis of tumors of the brain. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a magnetic resonance imaging system for ophthalmology, which can easily and easily use magnetic resonance imaging at a lower cost, and can obtain and use a diagnostic image customized for a patient for ophthalmic diagnosis to determine the abnormality of tissues such as the optic nerve. It is becoming.

Conventional magnetic resonance imaging system is not only designed to move the entire body of the patient, but also requires a shielding device to block the harm caused by the magnetic field, the size of the product is quite large, the price is the most expensive diagnostic area system Has a problem.

In addition, the conventional magnetic resonance imaging apparatus uses a superconducting magnet to form a main magnetic field and a large design space for moving the entire human body of the patient, so that the output capacity is large, and accordingly, the cost of maintenance and management of the system is high. Increases.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a user with a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus for ophthalmic diagnostic high resolution, which is devised to improve the above problems.

Specifically, the present invention provides an ophthalmic-only RF coil device and a head fixation device, and a magnetic resonance imaging system having the same, which can be used to photograph magnetic resonance images, as well as the morphological structure of the eye and the eye, as well as the optic nerve structure. The purpose is to.

1 illustrates an example of an RF coil unit of a high-resolution ophthalmic diagnostic magnetic resonance imaging apparatus proposed by the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the RF coil unit 100 of the high-resolution ophthalmic diagnostic magnetic resonance imaging apparatus proposed by the present invention may include an RF coil 110, a pad 120, a support 130, and a coil support 140. It may include.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of an RF coil unit of a high-resolution ophthalmic diagnostic magnetic resonance imaging apparatus proposed by the present invention.

1 and 2, the pads 120 inserted into the left and right sides of the RF coil unit 100 may include a material having no influence of a magnetic field.

In addition, the left and right pads 120 in the RF coil unit 100 may be inserted into 3.5 cm x 3.5 cm.

In addition, the RF coil unit 100 may be formed of a bird cage coil and a loop array coil.

In addition, the RF coil unit 100 can adjust the patient-specific age-specific size (minimum 2 cm x 2 cm loop formation, maximum 7 cm x 7 cm loop formation), and cover the entire head including the eyeball according to the size Can be.

The RF coil unit 100 may be a combined transmitting and receiving RF coil in which the receiving and transmitting coils are integrally formed.

In addition, the circuit inserted into the coil for receiving and transmitting the RF coil unit 100 may be changed, and the size may be inserted as about 1/8 of the size of the coil.

On the other hand, it includes a movable support 130 that can move the upper (0-7 cm), the lower (0-7cm), the left (0-7cm), the right (0-7cm) for fixing the RF coil unit 100 can do.

In addition, the movable support 130 may further include a separate coil support 140 that can support the coil 110.

Here, the RF coil unit 100 may be separated alone, and multiple devices having different shapes and sizes of the RF coil unit 100 may be established and included.

The RF coil unit 100 may additionally include a flexible coil that can cover the side portion of the structural portion of the appearance.

The external appearance of the RF coil unit 100 is a goggle type, and a coil may be additionally included, such as an eye patch type, a close type type, or a patient type type.

In addition, the connection unit (connector) may be further included on the back of the support 130 to connect the RF coil transceiver.

On the other hand, the support frame structure 130 is invented to surround the patient's forehead and the whole eye, it may include a goggle-type coil device corresponding to the face portion, formed in accordance with the bend.

Support frame structure 130 includes a single support frame formed on both sides of the system to contact the ear portion of the patient to support the patient's head from moving forward, backward, left and right.

Meanwhile, the examination table provided with a cradle may include a chair on which a patient may sit.

Here, the support 130 may be designed to flow and move.

In addition, the ophthalmic diagnostic room and the ophthalmic operating room can be manufactured to be portable so that the movement of the patient and the examiner is not limited.

In addition, both sides of the patient of the high-resolution ophthalmic diagnostic magnetic resonance imaging apparatus may include a permanent magnet having an N pole and an S pole, and a predetermined distance between the system structures may be 30 cm or less.

The examination part of the patient is a part (part) to which the coil 100 is attached, and the skin adhesion part may be any one of the remaining face parts except at least the eyeball part.

Figure 3 shows an example of a high-resolution eye diagnostic magnetic resonance imaging apparatus proposed by the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the high-definition ophthalmic diagnostic magnetic resonance imaging apparatus 1 is for acquiring MR images of an eyeball, and includes an examination table 10, a magnetic structure 12, a gradient coil unit 15, and a shim coil. Shim coil unit 18, RF coil unit 100, head fixing unit 44, elevating unit 27, data collection unit 30, RF coil drive unit 40, gradient coil drive unit 50 ), A shim coil drive unit 95, a control unit 60, a data processing unit 70, a display unit 80, an operation unit 90, and the like.

The examination table 10 is a structure in which the components of the MRI system 1 are installed, and the cradle 13 in which the examinee 17 can be positioned is disposed at an approximately central position. In this embodiment, the cradle 13 includes a chair 14 on which the subject 17 can sit.

In addition, the cradle 13 is the lifting unit 27 in order to allow the inspection site of the examinee 17 to rise from below to enter into the shooting space or to descend from above to exit the shooting space 16. Can be elevated by).

In this embodiment, the lifting unit 27 has a drive motor 28. On the drive shaft 28a of the drive motor 28, a pinion (not shown) having a gear is formed.

In the lower side of the chair 14, a rack 29 having a gear for engaging the pinion is formed. A gear train (not shown) may be disposed between the pinion and the rack 29 to enhance the driving force of the drive motor 28.

Therefore, when the drive motor 28 is rotated forward or reverse under the control of the control unit 60, the pinion formed on the drive shaft 28a is rotated to raise the rack 29 from the bottom up or down from the top, As a result, the chair 14 on which the examinee 17 sits is moved up and down by the rack 29.

In order to adjust the position and posture of the examinee 17, the cradle 14 is entirely moved back and forth using a known back and forth movement means (not shown), or the back 14a of the chair 14 has a known angle. It is configured to fold or fold at an angle using adjustment means (not shown).

As described above, the MRI system 1 according to the present invention can perform the test while the testee 17 automatically moves up and down by the lifting unit 27 while the examinee 17 sits on the chair 14 of the cradle 13. .

Through the ophthalmic system for acquiring the magnetic resonance image for diagnosing the eye disease described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, it is possible to effectively acquire by limiting the diagnosis of the eye. Acquisition and fusion of physiological and functional characteristics using resonance imaging parameters is possible.

In addition, compared to existing head and neck magnetic resonance imaging equipment, the magnetic resonance image acquisition area is effectively limited to the eye, so that high resolution anatomical image information and physiological / functional image information can be obtained / fused without signal attenuation and resolution reduction due to the inclusion of unnecessary image area. As a result, it can be effectively used in the ocular diagnosis area compared with the magnetic resonance imaging obtained by the existing head and neck system.

In addition, the high-resolution ocular diagnostic magnetic resonance imaging system (1) of the present invention minimizes image areas unnecessary for diagnosis in acquiring magnetic resonance imaging / magnetic resonance spectroscopy related to ocular disease, and is located close to the eye to enable effective information acquisition. to be.

It is an optimized system for ocular diagnosis with the advantage of acquiring and fusion of various eye images that could not be obtained in the existing optical equipment-based diagnostic techniques and physiological and functional image information using various magnetic resonance imaging parameters. Can be used.

That is, by limiting the image area to the eye in acquiring the eye MRI / MRI spectroscopy, it is possible to effectively acquire and fuse excellent anatomical image information and physiological / functional image information without signal attenuation and resolution reduction due to inclusion of unnecessary image area. It is expected to contribute to the diagnosis of ophthalmic diseases by making it possible.

In addition, it is expected to increase the applicability and convenience of the patient because the two-sided coil device can be separated and used for diagnosis limited to a single eye.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of an RF coil unit of a high-resolution ophthalmic diagnostic magnetic resonance imaging apparatus proposed by the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the RF coil 110 has a rectangular structure as a goggle shape, and FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate simulation results of an image photographing result according to the RF coil unit described with reference to FIG. 4.

6 illustrates another example of the RF coil unit of the high-resolution ophthalmic diagnostic magnetic resonance imaging apparatus proposed by the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, the RF coil 110 has a rectangular double structure in the form of goggles, and FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate simulation results according to the RF coil unit described with reference to FIG. 6.

When the configuration of the present invention described above is applied, it is possible to provide a user with a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus for ophthalmic diagnostic high-definition eyes.

In addition, the present invention provides an ophthalmic-only RF coil device and a head fixation device that can be used to photograph magnetic resonance images, as well as the morphological structure of the eye and the eyeball, and the optic nerve structure, and a magnetic resonance imaging system having them can do.

In addition, the present invention enables the effective acquisition of the magnetic resonance image for the diagnosis of eye disease by the ophthalmic-only system, by using an excellent anatomical characteristics and various magnetic resonance imaging parameters compared to the conventional optical equipment-based diagnostic technology It is possible to acquire and fuse physiological and functional properties.

In addition, the present invention effectively obtains high-resolution anatomical image information and physiological / functional image information without signal attenuation and resolution reduction due to the inclusion of unnecessary image area by effectively limiting the magnetic resonance image acquisition area to the eye compared to existing head and neck magnetic resonance imaging equipment. Because it is possible to fuse, it can be effectively used in the ocular diagnosis area compared with the magnetic resonance imaging obtained with the existing head and neck system.

The detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention disclosed as described above is provided to enable those skilled in the art to implement and practice the invention. Although the above has been described with reference to preferred embodiments of the present invention, those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, those skilled in the art can use each of the configurations described in the above-described embodiments in combination with each other. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

The invention can be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit and essential features of the invention. Accordingly, the above detailed description should not be interpreted as limiting in all aspects and should be considered as illustrative. The scope of the invention should be determined by reasonable interpretation of the appended claims, and all changes within the equivalent scope of the invention are included in the scope of the invention. The present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein. In addition, the claims may be combined to form an embodiment by combining claims that do not have an explicit citation relationship or may be incorporated as new claims by post-application correction.

Claims (10)

A support for fixing the head of the patient;
An eye RF coil for acquiring magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of an eye region of a patient to which the head is fixed; And
And a pad that assists the patient's eye area and the RF coil to be positioned in a non-invasive manner.
The RF coil is formed to be bent at least once along the eye area,
The pad is disposed at the end of the RF coil, is formed of a material that does not affect the magnetic field,

The RF coil includes at least one of a bird cage coil, a loop array coil, and a combined RF transceiver coil having a receiving coil and a transmitting coil integrally formed therein.

The support further includes a movable support for fixing the RF coil,

Further comprising a flexible coil surrounding at least a portion of the side of the RF coil,

The pad compresses the space between the eye area and the ear area of the patient to assist the eye area and the RF coil to be in close proximity,

The RF coil is at least one of goggle coil, eye patch coil, contact coil, patient-specific coil,

The RF coil unit, the RF coil unit, characterized in that the center line of the vertical height of the magnetic field for acquiring the magnetic resonance image in the state where the head is fixed is located in the eyeball area of the patient.
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