Doubly Tuned Receiver Coil for a Magnetic Resonance Tomography System

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The invention is a specially designed receive coil for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and spectroscopy systems, capable of tuning to receive nuclear magnetic resonance signals at two distinct frequencies—for example, for detecting signals from both hydrogen (protons) and other nuclei like phosphorus or fluorine. The coil uses a tuning circuit that includes a PIN diode and an inductor connected in a specific way, allowing rapid and efficient switching between frequencies with minimal signal loss and high sensitivity, especially for less common nuclei.

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• Dual-frequency MRI scans in clinical settings for enhanced diagnostics (e.g., imaging both water/protons and metabolic markers).
• MRI spectroscopy to detect various nuclei (e.g., 1H and 31P, 19F, or 13C) in research and medical diagnostics.
• Whole-body or targeted organ MRI/magnetic resonance spectroscopy scans where changing between frequencies is required (e.g., phosphorus muscle metabolism and typical proton imaging in one session).
• Development of multi-nuclear MRI techniques for studying metabolic pathways, drug tracking, or cell labeling with specific nuclei.
• Flexible coil arrays for patient-adapted imaging, increasing image quality regardless of anatomy or patient variation.

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• Allows rapid and easy switching between two different MRI resonance frequencies (e.g., proton and non-proton nuclei).
• Maintains high signal-to-noise ratio and sensitivity for both primary (proton) and secondary (non-proton) MRI frequencies.
• Reduces complexity and cost compared to dual-purpose transmit/receive coils or traditional multi-frequency coil designs.
• Uses non-magnetic PIN diodes and components, preventing interference with MRI's strong magnetic fields.
• Enables large-scale (whole-body) dual-frequency imaging with simplified coil design, previously restricted by power limits in combined transmit/receive coils.
• Improves versatility and flexibility in MRI diagnostics and research, supporting multi-nuclear and advanced clinical/research imaging protocols.
• Minimizes losses and coil performance degradation at both frequencies, especially important for weak signals from non-proton nuclei.
• Allows construction of large, flexible array coils for better anatomical fit and imaging consistency.

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Patent Abstract

The invention relates to a reception coil for a magnetic resonance tomography and/or spectroscopy system, to a method for tuning a reception coil, to a reception coil arrangement for a magnetic resonance tomography and/or spectroscopy system, to a magnetic tomography and/or spectroscopy system and to a use of a PIN diode. A reception coil (1) for a magnetic resonance tomography and/or spectroscopy system can be tuned to receive two different frequencies (10). The reception coil (1) comprises: a coil body (2) which is intended for detecting nuclear magnetic resonance signals and has a capacitor (3) located in or on the coil body (2); and a tuning circuit (9) which is in operative connection with the coil body (2) and is intended for tuning the reception coil (1). The tuning circuit (9) has a PIN diode (8) and an inductor (7). The PIN diode (8) is connected in series with the inductor (7) and in parallel with the capacitor (3).