Sung M. Moon1, K. Craig Goodrich1,
J. Rock Hadley1, Gengsheng Lawrence Zeng1, Glen Morrell1,
Matthew A. McAlpine2, Blaine A. Chronik2, Dennis L.
Parker1
1UCAIR (Utah Center for Advanced
Imaging Research), Radiology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United
States; 2Physics and Astronomy, University of Western Ontario,
London, Ontario, Canada
With
higher gradient strength and slew rate, planar insert gradients can attain
higher spatial and temporal resolution than the body gradients. However, a
homogeneous gradient volume of the planar gradient is relatively small due to
its inherent geometry and exponential field fall-off with distance from the
coil surface. Therefore, the HGV may be too small for breast imaging. In this
work, to create wider HGV, the planar geometry was widened and the edges were
bent vertically using superelliptical curvature on both sides, creating a
so-called superellipse shape to fit in the magnet bore. These vertical edges
increase the uniformity. Furthermore, an extra outer layer of current
windings was added to increase its strength and homogeneity.