Medusa: A Scalable MR Console Using USB
- 26 September 2011
- journal article
- Published by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) in IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging
- Vol. 31 (2), 370-379
- https://doi.org/10.1109/tmi.2011.2169681
Abstract
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) pulse sequence consoles typically employ closed proprietary hardware, software, and interfaces, making difficult any adaptation for innovative experimental technology. Yet MRI systems research is trending to higher channel count receivers, transmitters, gradient/shims, and unique interfaces for interventional applications. Customized console designs are now feasible for researchers with modern electronic components, but high data rates, synchronization, scalability, and cost present important challenges. Implementing large multichannel MR systems with efficiency and flexibility requires a scalable modular architecture. With Medusa, we propose an open system architecture using the universal serial bus (USB) for scalability, combined with distributed processing and buffering to address the high data rates and strict synchronization required by multichannel MRI. Medusa uses a modular design concept based on digital synthesizer, receiver, and gradient blocks, in conjunction with fast programmable logic for sampling and synchronization. Medusa is a form of synthetic instrument, being reconfigurable for a variety of medical/scientific instrumentation needs. The Medusa distributed architecture, scalability, and data bandwidth limits are presented, and its flexibility is demonstrated in a variety of novel MRI applications.This publication has 22 references indexed in Scilit:
- A modularized pulse programmer for NMR spectroscopyMeasurement Science and Technology, 2010
- Reconstruction of MRI data encoded with arbitrarily shaped, curvilinear, nonbijective magnetic fieldsMagnetic Resonance in Medicine, 2010
- Ensuring safety of implanted devices under MRI using reversed RF polarizationMagnetic Resonance in Medicine, 2010
- A 128‐channel receive‐only cardiac coil for highly accelerated cardiac MRI at 3 TeslaMagnetic Resonance in Medicine, 2008
- Parallel imaging in non-bijective, curvilinear magnetic field gradients: a concept studyMagnetic Resonance Materials in Physics, Biology and Medicine, 2008
- A highly integrated FPGA-based nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometerReview of Scientific Instruments, 2007
- Magnetic resonance imaging with T1 dispersion contrastMagnetic Resonance in Medicine, 2006
- Parallel excitation with an array of transmit coilsMagnetic Resonance in Medicine, 2004
- A high performance digital receiver for home-built nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometersReview of Scientific Instruments, 2002
- A desktop magnetic resonance imaging systemMagnetic Resonance Materials in Physics, Biology and Medicine, 2001