Conceptual Design of a Portable, Solid-Nitrogen-Cooled 0.5-T/560-mm Point-of-Care MRI Magnet
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Author(s)
Park, Dongkeun
Bascuñán, Juan
Lee, Wooseung
Iwasa, Yukikazu
Date Issued
August 2022
Journal
IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity
Publisher
IEEE
Abstract
We describe the conceptual design of a portable, liquid-helium-free, all-REBCO, 0.5-T/560-mm point-of-care magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) magnet. It is free from an external power supply and a refrigeration system during operation. In our portable MRI magnet, we use a detachable “cryocirculator” that circulates, in a closed circuit, cold working fluid, and most importantly for portability, it can be readily coupled to or decoupled from the magnet, in contrast, a conventional cryocooler is mechanically attached to the magnet. Another unique feature of our system is a volume of solid nitrogen (SN2) in the cold chamber that adds enough thermal mass to the magnet in the 30–36-K operating temperature range, enabling it to maintain its field over a period of, for this system,≥10 hours, plenty enough for this portable MRI system, uncoupled from its cryocirculator, to perform its mission before it needs recooling.
Description
Submitted for publication in IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Plasma Science and Fusion Center
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1109/tasc.2023.3242228
