COMPACT, CYLINDRICAL, DISTRIBUTED-CURRENT, TRANSVERSE-GRADIENT COILS FOR USE IN MRI

Conventional cylindrical, distributed-current, transverse-gradient coi ls used in MRI occupy the entire surface of the cylinder, Since the tw o transverse-gradient coils, x and y, must be rigidly supported and el ectrically isolated from one another, they occupy a significant amount of space in the radial direction, with a consequent reduction in the utilization efficiency of the magnet bore volume, In this work, transv erse-gradient coil designs which allow both x and y coils to be locate d on the same cylindrical surface are studied. One design in particula r is shown to generate a gradient which is as linear as that generated by a conventional distributed-current gradient coil over a sphere who se radius is 60% of the radius of the cylinder. (C) 1996 Academic Pres s, Inc.