I-Corps: Printed receive coils for Magnetic Resonance Imaging

I-Corps项目的广泛影响/商业潜力有助于增加有资格使用诊断和介入性磁共振成像(MRI)的临床病例。目前，一些患者群体，如儿科，主要由于缺乏足够的线圈而无法受益于MRI。柔性线圈和印制线圈重量轻，符合人体的要求，在增加检查舒适性的同时提高了可靠性，由于线圈靠近样品时获得的信噪比更高，因此缩短了检查时间。在儿科应用中，这种影响将是双重的；线圈将增加MRI的可及性，并减少全身麻醉的使用，从而减少扫描失败。这些线圈的商业化也可能增加MR引导的非侵入性治疗的数量。舒适和廉价的线圈将有助于简化医院的流程，从而有助于建立更高效、更负担得起的医疗系统。这个i-Corps项目旨在确定所需的决定性设计特征，以便为磁共振柔性印刷线圈的用户提供最大价值。该项目将通过与客户相关的指标来量化印刷线圈带来的好处，并将为成功的商业化计划奠定基础。接收线圈是获得高质量磁共振图像的关键组件。商用线圈使用传统的高端昂贵电子产品，设计成一刀切，包装笨重。印刷线圈重量轻、灵活，制造成本更低，同时提供与传统线圈相同的效果，在许多情况下图像质量更好。有了这项技术，线圈可以打印成适合所有尺寸，并适当地适合患者的解剖，同时提供卓越的舒适性。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project contributes to the growth of clinical cases that qualify for the use of diagnostic and interventional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Currently some patient populations, such as pediatrics, cannot benefit from MRI mostly due to the lack of adequate coils. Flexible and printed coils are lightweight and conform well to the human body, increasing comfort during the exam while increasing reliability, reducing the exam time due to the increased SNR obtained when coils are in close proximity to the sample. In pediatric use, the impact will be two-fold; the coils will increase the accessibility of MRI and decrease the use of general anesthesia resulting in less failed scans. The commercialization of these coils could also increase the number of MR-guided non-invasive therapy. Comfortable and inexpensive coils would assist streamline the process flow in hospitals, thus contributing to a more efficient, more affordable healthcare system.This I-Corps project aims to identify the decisive design features required in order to offer the most value to the users of flexible printed coils for MRI. The project will quantify the benefits brought by printed coils through metrics relevant to customers and will lay the foundations of a successful commercialization plan. Receive coils are critical components to achieve high-quality MR images. Commercially available coils use conventional, high-end expensive electronics and are designed as one-size-fits-all with heavy and bulky packaging. Printed coils are lightweight, flexible and can be manufactured at lower cost, while delivering equivalent results and in many cases better image quality than conventional coils. With this technology, coils can be printed to fit all sizes and properly fit the patient anatomy while offering superior comfort.