LTS magnet for neonatal MR tomography

Within the scope of the R&D project, a demonstrator for a conductively cooled and cost-effective electromagnet made of LTS special wire for the neonatal field is to be developed by the cooperation partners Neoscan Solutions and Research Campus STIMULATE at Otto von Guericke University.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has proven successful in hospitals as a diagnostic imaging procedure without the exposure to potentially harmful ionising radiation. Magnetic fields, which are generated with the help of strongly cooled electromagnets consisting of coils, help to resolve the body anatomy and physiological processes. Clinical MRI devices currently have cooling systems using liquid helium, which requires safety-related and costly structural precautions.

A cost-effective alternative for cooling MRI devices without liquid helium is the so-called conductive cooling, which could replace cooling with liquid helium in the future with the help of powerful cold heads together with cold-conducting copper strands. To minimise the quench risk of conductive cooling, which is not yet used in clinical practice, an expensive special HTS (high temperature superconductor) wire is used for the electromagnet, among other things. An alternative could be electromagnets with LTS (low temperature superconductor) wire, but these require reliable cooling, which is why MRI machines equipped with LTS magnets are currently still operated with liquid helium.

The needs of potential customers of an MRI device with high field strength and high magnetic field homogeneity at a manageable cost and resource input would close the substitution of helium cooling with conductive cooling and additionally the use of a low-cost LTS special wire for the electromagnet. The project partners Neoscan Solutions GmbH and Otto von Guericke University want to realise this innovative, conductive-cooled MRI solenoid in complementary cooperation at the Research Campus STIMULATE.