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arXiv · 2203.15989

Top-level Design and Simulated Performance of the First Portable CT-MR scanner

Yuting Peng·Mengzhou Li·Jace Grandinetti·Ge Wang·Xun Jia
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Abstract

Multi-modality imaging hardware can be integrated in a single gantry to collect diverse datasets for complementary information and spatiotemporal correlation, with excellent examples including PET-CT and PET-MRI. However, there is no CT-MRI prototype up to today due to technical challenges and associated cost-benefit considerations. Thanks to the rapid development of medical imaging, it becomes feasible now to integrate cost-effective CT and MRI imagers together for portability, popularity, and point of care. In this paper, we present the top-level design of the first portable CT-MRI system and evaluate its imaging performance via realistic numerical simulations. In this CT-MRI system, the magnet made of two NdFeB rings of about 40.0 cm radius forms a magnetic field of about 57 mT at the isocenter and has a gap of 11.3 cm to accommodate the rotating CT gantry. The targeted MR imaging field of view (FOV) is a sphere of ~15 cm in diameter and that of CT is approximately 20 cm diameter in axial direction and 5 cm in longitudinal direction. Our results show a great potential of such a hybrid system. The proposed CT-MRI system will be valuable in applications such as imaging in underdeveloped countries, disaster scenes and battle fields.

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Yuting Peng, Mengzhou Li, Jace Grandinetti, Ge Wang, Xun Jia. 2022-03-30. Top-level Design and Simulated Performance of the First Portable CT-MR scanner. https://arxiv.org/abs/2203.15989

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