Conceptual Design of a Portable, Solid-Nitrogen-Cooled 0.5-T/560-mm Point-of-Care MRI Magnet

Abstract

We describe the conceptual design of a portable, liquid-helium-free, all-REBCO, 0.5-T/560-mm point-of-care magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) magnet. It is free from an external power supply and a refrigeration system during operation. In our portable MRI magnet, we use a detachable “cryocirculator” that circulates, in a closed circuit, cold working fluid, and most importantly for portability, it can be readily coupled to or decoupled from the magnet, in contrast, a conventional cryocooler is mechanically attached to the magnet. Another unique feature of our system is a volume of solid nitrogen (SN2) in the cold chamber that adds enough thermal mass to the magnet in the 30–36-K operating temperature range, enabling it to maintain its field over a period of, for this system,≥10 hours, plenty enough for this portable MRI system, uncoupled from its cryocirculator, to perform its mission before it needs recooling.