Radiofrequency coils

1. A method for producing a rigid, shaped, non-planar radiofrequency coil comprising the steps of:

placing a number of coil elements selected from one and a desired plurality of coil elements on to a flexible substrate to make a coil;

fitting the coil into a first mechanical former capable of holding the coil rigid in a desired configuration;

while the coil is held in said former, undertaking a radiofrequency set-up to optimise the radiofrequency characteristics of the coil for a target application;

laying the said coil flat and covering it with foam; and

subsequently applying the said foam covered coil to the first mechanical former or a different former capable of holding the said coil rigid in the desired configuration thereby defining the rigid, shaped, non-planar radiofrequency coil.

2. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the step of applying the foam covered coil to a first mechanical former is irreversible.

3. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the step of applying the foam covered coil to a first mechanical former is reversible and the coil may be removed from the mechanical former using a quick release mechanism.

4. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the radiofrequency set-up includes at least one of obtaining the best coil Q factor; ensuring that the coil has the most suitable unloaded resonance determined by measurement of the circuit's quality factor; ensuring that the coil is tuned at the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) frequency when loaded by the object that is to be the subject of the magnetic resonance (MR) scan; ensuring that in a multi-element design the coil has good radiofrequency isolation from other elements; ensuring that the coil is matched to the output circuitry such that, in the case of a receive coil, the signal detected has optimum signal to noise ratio, and, in the case of a transmit coil, that the coil produces an optimum radiofrequency field for a given radiofrequency power output from an associated amplifier.

5. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the method includes a preliminary step performed prior to the placing step, the preliminary step comprising: designing a former capable of holding a flexible coil in a rigid shape, this rigid shape being the shape required for the final coil.

6. A method according to claim 5 , wherein the former is designed to be generally cylindrical in a mathematical sense with a uniform cross-section along its axis.

7. A method according to claim 6 , wherein that cross-section is one of circular, oval or irregular.

8. A method according to claim 5 , wherein the former is designed to be curved but not closed, such that the coil is held in a U- or C-shape or to extend significantly in two dimensions while having only a low profile in the third dimension.

9. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the coil is provided with protrusions capable of reversibly locking into fixing locations on said former such that when the said protrusions are locked into the fixing locations the coil is held rigid in the desired configuration in the said former, the protrusions being designed to extend outside the sections of the coil that are foam covered.

10. A method according to claim 9 , wherein the protrusions are provided on one or more edges of the coil and are permanently attached to the coil.

11. A method according to claim 9 , wherein the protrusions may be removed from the coil for the foam covering step and attached once the coil is covered in foam.

12. A method according to claim 11 , wherein the protrusions will be slid into mating parts on the coil or screwed onto the coil through holes in the foam.