Date of Award
Fall 2006
Document Type
Thesis - Restricted
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Electrical and Computer Engineering
First Advisor
Richie, James E.
Second Advisor
Deibele, Steven
Third Advisor
Boskamp, Eddy B.
Abstract
Patient safety and comfort, ease of use for healthcare professionals and achieving the best image quality are the primary goals for devices used in the field of medical diagnostic imaging including Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Recent advances in surface coil technology require a large amount of copper cables, which are heavy and cumbersome to handle and introduce a potential hazard to the patient due to induced currents on the surface. This work is aimed at eliminating copper cables from the surface coils. The proposed method of data transport between surface coil and MR system is a high-speed serial link with fiber-optic transmission medium. Background information on theory of MRI, digital transmission, and fiber-optic transmission is provided. A simplified laboratory setup including a high-speed serial board, a pair of fiberoptic transceivers, a fiber-optic cable, and a digital oscilloscope is used to demonstrate the fundamental feasibility of a high-speed serial link for MR surface coils. Four different sets of transceivers are evaluated with respect to time interval error, voltage levels, rise times, and various types of jitter. Based on the data acquired in the laboratory, a ranking of the four sets of transceivers has been developed to aid in the selection of the best suitable transceiver design. Data is shown that indicates that one particular pair of transceivers performs worst. Of the remaining three sets, no obvious choice could be made based on performance, and they are deemed equally qualified.
Recommended Citation
Klinge, Julia H. A., "Digital communication link for MR Surface Coils" (2006). Master's Theses (1922-2009) Access restricted to Marquette Campus. 4939.
https://epublications.marquette.edu/theses/4939