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Abstract

A remotely positionable device for use in magnetic resonance imaging includes a magnet which is juxtaposable against the object to be imaged without actually surrounding to object. When so positioned, the magnet generates a static nonhomogeneous magnetic field having a determinable measurement surface wherein both the magnitude and the gradient of the field are substantially constant. Additionally, the device includes an RF antenna for periodically pulsing nuclei in the measurement surface with pulses of the Larmor frequency to initially tilt the nuclei and to subsequently refocus the nuclei. The device also includes a pair of gradient coils which generate a gradient fields that are superposed on the static field to encode the nuclei. The RF antenna subsequently receives a plurality of encoded spin echo signals from the refocussed nuclei which are averaged by a computer to create a measured response. Specifically, the nuclei are refocussed and the encoded spin echo signals are received at a rate that is proportional to the gradient of the static flux field. The computer is also used to create an image from a plurality of measured responses taken from differently encoded spin echo signals.

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First Claim