Alice Borceto1, Andrea Viale2, Leonardo Bertora2, Richard Bowtell3, Franco Bertora1
1Robotics Brain and Cognitive Science, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, GE, Italy; 2Paramed Medical System, Genova, Italy; 3University of Nottingham, Sir Peter Mansfield Magnetic Resonance Centre, Nottingham, United Kingdom
A comparative study of two different types of gradient coil design (conventional and 3D or "linked" designs) is presented. "Linked" coils generally have better performance characteristics than conventional designs, but they are more expensive to manufacture due to their complexity. The analysis is performed by assessment of inductive energy, resistive power dissipation and cost factors for different coil geometries for three coil configurations: (i) cylindrical, (ii) biplanar and (iii) split. If high performance is needed, "linked" gradient coils can be preferable. On the contrary, if lower performance is sufficient, conventional gradient coils provide better value for money.