285 research outputs found
High Impedance Detector Arrays for Magnetic Resonance
Resonant inductive coupling is commonly seen as an undesired fundamental
phenomenon emergent in densely packed resonant structures, such as nuclear
magnetic resonance phased array detectors. The need to mitigate coupling
imposes rigid constraints on the detector design, impeding performance and
limiting the scope of magnetic resonance experiments. Here we introduce a high
impedance detector design, which can cloak itself from electrodynamic
interactions with neighboring elements. We verify experimentally that the high
impedance detectors do not suffer from signal-to-noise degradation mechanisms
observed with traditional low impedance elements. Using this new-found
robustness, we demonstrate an adaptive wearable detector array for magnetic
resonance imaging of the hand. The unique properties of the detector glove
reveal new pathways to study the biomechanics of soft tissues, and exemplify
the enabling potential of high-impedance detectors for a wide range of
demanding applications that are not well suited to traditional coil designs.Comment: 16 pages, 12 figures, videos available upon reques
Optimized Quantification of Spin Relaxation Times in the Hybrid State
Purpose: The analysis of optimized spin ensemble trajectories for relaxometry
in the hybrid state.
Methods: First, we constructed visual representations to elucidate the
differential equation that governs spin dynamics in hybrid state. Subsequently,
numerical optimizations were performed to find spin ensemble trajectories that
minimize the Cram\'er-Rao bound for -encoding, -encoding, and their
weighted sum, respectively, followed by a comparison of the Cram\'er-Rao bounds
obtained with our optimized spin-trajectories, as well as Look-Locker and
multi-spin-echo methods. Finally, we experimentally tested our optimized spin
trajectories with in vivo scans of the human brain.
Results: After a nonrecurring inversion segment on the southern hemisphere of
the Bloch sphere, all optimized spin trajectories pursue repetitive loops on
the northern half of the sphere in which the beginning of the first and the end
of the last loop deviate from the others. The numerical results obtained in
this work align well with intuitive insights gleaned directly from the
governing equation. Our results suggest that hybrid-state sequences outperform
traditional methods. Moreover, hybrid-state sequences that balance - and
-encoding still result in near optimal signal-to-noise efficiency. Thus,
the second parameter can be encoded at virtually no extra cost.
Conclusion: We provide insights regarding the optimal encoding processes of
spin relaxation times in order to guide the design of robust and efficient
pulse sequences. We find that joint acquisitions of and in the
hybrid state are substantially more efficient than sequential encoding
techniques.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure
Hybrid-State Free Precession in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance
The dynamics of large spin-1/2 ensembles in the presence of a varying
magnetic field are commonly described by the Bloch equation. Most magnetic
field variations result in unintuitive spin dynamics, which are sensitive to
small deviations in the driving field. Although simplistic field variations can
produce robust dynamics, the captured information content is impoverished.
Here, we identify adiabaticity conditions that span a rich experiment design
space with tractable dynamics. These adiabaticity conditions trap the spin
dynamics in a one-dimensional subspace. Namely, the dynamics is captured by the
absolute value of the magnetization, which is in a transient state, while its
direction adiabatically follows the steady state. We define the hybrid state as
the co-existence of these two states and identify the polar angle as the
effective driving force of the spin dynamics. As an example, we optimize this
drive for robust and efficient quantification of spin relaxation times and
utilize it for magnetic resonance imaging of the human brain
A simple noniterative principal component technique for rapid noise reduction in parallel MR images
The utilization of parallel imaging permits increased MR acquisition speed and efficiency; however, parallel MRI usually leads to a deterioration in the signal-to-noise ratio when compared with otherwise equivalent unaccelerated acquisitions. At high accelerations, the parallel image reconstruction matrix tends to become dominated by one principal component. This has been utilized to enable substantial reductions in g-factor-related noise. A previously published technique achieved noise reductions via a computationally intensive search for multiples of the dominant singular vector which, when subtracted from the image, minimized joint entropy between the accelerated image and a reference image. We describe a simple algorithm that can accomplish similar results without a time-consuming search. Significant reductions in g-factor-related noise were achieved using this new algorithm with in vivo acquisitions at 1.5T with an eight-element array. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
Simulations of Quantum Logic Operations in Quantum Computer with Large Number of Qubits
We report the first simulations of the dynamics of quantum logic operations
with a large number of qubits (up to 1000). A nuclear spin chain in which
selective excitations of spins is provided by the gradient of the external
magnetic field is considered. The spins interact with their nearest neighbors.
We simulate the quantum control-not (CN) gate implementation for remote qubits
which provides the long-distance entanglement. Our approach can be applied to
any implementation of quantum logic gates involving a large number of qubits.Comment: 13 pages, 15 figure
Classical Limit of Demagnetization in a Field Gradient
We calculate the rate of decrease of the expectation value of the transverse
component of spin for spin-1/2 particles in a magnetic field with a spatial
gradient, to determine the conditions under which a previous classical
description is valid. A density matrix treatment is required for two reasons.
The first arises because the particles initially are not in a pure state due to
thermal motion. The second reason is that each particle interacts with the
magnetic field and the other particles, with the latter taken to be via a
2-body central force. The equations for the 1-body Wigner distribution
functions are written in a general manner, and the places where quantum
mechanical effects can play a role are identified. One that may not have been
considered previously concerns the momentum associated with the magnetic field
gradient, which is proportional to the time integral of the gradient. Its
relative magnitude compared with the important momenta in the problem is a
significant parameter, and if their ratio is not small some non-classical
effects contribute to the solution.
Assuming the field gradient is sufficiently small, and a number of other
inequalities are satisfied involving the mean wavelength, range of the force,
and the mean separation between particles, we solve the integro- partial
differential equations for the Wigner functions to second order in the strength
of the gradient. When the same reasoning is applied to a different problem with
no field gradient, but having instead a gradient to the z-component of
polarization, the connection with the diffusion coefficient is established, and
we find agreement with the classical result for the rate of decrease of the
transverse component of magnetization.Comment: 22 pages, no figure
Persistent Current in the Ferromagnetic Kondo Lattice Model
In this paper, we study the zero temperature persistent current in a
ferromagnetic Kondo lattice model in the strong coupling limit. In this model,
there are spontaneous spin textures at some values of the external magnetic
flux. These spin textures contribute a geometric flux, which can induce an
additional spontaneous persistent current. Since this spin texture changes with
the external magnetic flux, we find that there is an anomalous persistent
current in some region of magnetic flux: near Phi/Phi_0=0 for an even number of
electrons and Phi/Phi_0=1/2 for an odd number of electrons.Comment: 6 RevTeX pages, 10 figures include
Demonstration of the Effect of Generic Anatomical Divisions versus Clinical Protocols on Computed Tomography Dose Estimates and Risk Burden
Objective: Choosing to undertake a CT scan relies on balancing risk versus benefit, however risks associated with CT scanning have generally been limited to broad anatomical locations, which do not provided adequate information to evaluate risk against benefit. Our study aimed to determine differences in radiation dose and risk estimates associated with modern CT scanning examinations when computed for clinical protocols compared with those using anatomical area. Methods: Technical data were extracted from a tertiary hospital Picture Archiving Communication System for random samples of 20–40 CT examinations per adult clinical CT protocol. Organ and whole body radiation dose were calculated using ImPACT Monte Carlo simulation software and cancer incidence and mortality estimated using BEIR VII age and gender specific lifetime attributable risk weights. Results: Thirty four unique CT protocols were identified by our study. When grouped according to anatomic area the radiation dose varied substantially, particularly for abdominal protocols. The total estimated number of incident cancers and cancer related deaths using the mean dose of anatomical area were 86 and 69 respectively. Using more specific protocol doses the estimates rose to 214 and 138 incident cancers and cancer related deaths, at least doubling the burden estimated. Conclusions: Modern CT scanning produces a greater diversity of effective doses than much of the literature describes; where a lack of focus on actual scanning protocols has produced estimates that do not reflect the range and complexity of modern CT practice. To allow clinicians, patients and policy makers to make informed risk versus benefit decisions the individual and population level risks associated with modern CT practices are essential
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