I-Corps: Printed receive coils for Magnetic Resonance Imaging

该I-Corps项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力有助于有资格使用诊断和介入磁共振成像（MRI）的临床病例的增长。目前，一些患者人群（如儿科）无法从MRI中受益，主要是由于缺乏足够的线圈。柔性和印刷线圈重量轻，与人体贴合良好，在提高可靠性的同时增加了检查期间的舒适度，由于线圈靠近样本时获得的SNR增加，减少了检查时间。在儿科使用中，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以增加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，从而有助于更有效，更实惠的医疗保健系统。这个I-Corps项目旨在确定所需的决定性设计功能，以便为MRI用柔性印刷线圈的用户提供最大的价值。该项目将通过与客户相关的指标量化印刷线圈带来的好处，并为成功的商业化计划奠定基础。接收线圈是实现高质量MR图像的关键组件。市售的线圈使用传统的高端昂贵的电子产品，并被设计为一个尺寸适合所有的沉重和笨重的包装。印刷线圈重量轻，灵活，可以以较低的成本制造，同时提供等同的结果，在许多情况下比传统线圈更好的图像质量。利用该技术，可以打印适合所有尺寸的线圈，并适当地适合患者解剖结构，同时提供上级舒适性。

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.