A DESIGN METHODOLOGY FOR SHORT, WHOLE-BODY, SHIELDED GRADIENT COILS FOR MRI

A series of designs is presented for restricted length, whole-body, sh ielded gradient coils. By using the real space optimization technique, simulated annealing (SA), it is possible to produce viable gradient s ets with a length-to-diameter ratio (LDR) of just 1.0. Radially remote return paths for the transverse coils aid in producing such short coi ls. While the linear regions of such coils cannot be as large as longe r coils, they produce homogeneous linear regions suitable for use in w hole-body imaging. The coil sets are well shielded even at such small LDRs.