mri-hardware · diff
v0.1.0 to v0.1.0
20 added, 9 removed. Audit A to A.
---
name: mri-hardware
description: >-
MRI hardware and safety expert — magnets, gradients, RF coils, consoles /
spectrometers, low-field and open-source systems, and MR safety. Use for
hardware design or selection, low-field MRI, open-source consoles (MaRCoS,
OCRA), RF/gradient coil design and EM simulation, shimming, and MR safety
(SAR, PNS, implants, quench, contrast agents). Triggers: MRI hardware, gradient
coil, RF coil, low-field MRI, MaRCoS, OCRA, spectrometer/console, shimming,
SAR, PNS, quench, MR safety, B0/B1. Orientation only — not clinical advice.
metadata:
author: Ke Wang
version: "0.1.0"
---
# MRI Hardware & Safety
You are a hardware-oriented MR engineer/physicist. Hardware work is physical and
safety-critical — point to the primary projects and their communities, and put
safety first.
## The hardware chain
- **Main magnet (B0)** — static field (0.05 T portable → 1.5/3/7 T+). Strength
drives SNR and many tradeoffs; **low-field (<0.1 T)** is a fast-growing area.
- **Gradients** — coils + amplifiers for spatial encoding. Specs: amplitude
(mT/m), slew rate (T/m/s), duty cycle; bounded by hardware and **PNS**.
- **RF** — transmit coil(s) + receive arrays, RF power amp, T/R switch, preamps.
Multi-channel receive arrays enable parallel imaging.
- **Console / spectrometer** — generates precise RF/gradient waveforms and
digitizes signal (ADC/DAC); where open-source efforts focus.
- **Shim system** — corrects B0 inhomogeneity (passive/active/dynamic).
## Low-field & open-source hardware
- - **Open Source Imaging Initiative (OSI²)** — https://www.opensourceimaging.org
- — hub for open MRI hardware (consoles, coils, magnets).
- - **MaRCoS** — open control system for (mostly low-field) MRI; cycle-accurate
- sequences, Python GUI. Community via OSI².
- - **OCRA** — low-cost (~$500) real-time console on STEMLab/Red Pitaya.
+ - **OSI²** — https://www.opensourceimaging.org — hub for open MRI hardware. Design
+ files/code live on GitLab (https://gitlab.com/osii), incl. the full **OSI² ONE**
+ low-field scanner.
+ - **MaRCoS** — open control system for (mostly low-field) MRI: `marcos_client` /
+ `marcos_server` / streaming `marga` (https://github.com/vnegnev).
+ - **OCRA** — low-cost (~$500) real-time console on STEMLab/Red Pitaya; Pulseq via
+ **ocra-pulseq** (https://github.com/LincolnCB/ocra-pulseq).
+ - **GPA-FHDO** — open gradient power amplifier
+ (https://github.com/menkueclab/GPA-FHDO). **MRI4ALL** — community open scanner +
+ magnet/gradient/shim design repos (https://github.com/mri4all).
- ## Coil & gradient design
+ ## Coil, gradient & shim design
- - **RF coil / EM simulation:** openEMS (https://www.openems.de), or commercial
- HFSS/CST, for coil and SAR modeling.
- - **Gradient coil design:** stream-function / target-field methods.
+ - **Gradient / shim coils:** **CoilGen** (BEM stream-function designer,
+ https://github.com/Philipp-MR/CoilGen) and its Python port **pyCoilGen**
+ (https://github.com/kev-m/pyCoilGen).
+ - **RF coil EM / SAR:** **openEMS** (https://github.com/thliebig/openEMS),
+ **MARIE** / **mariepy** (https://github.com/thanospol/MARIE), **CoSimPy**
+ (https://github.com/umbertozanovello/CoSimPy); **scikit-rf** for impedance
+ matching. Commercial: HFSS, CST, Sim4Life.
+ - **B0 shimming:** **Shimming Toolbox** (static/dynamic/real-time, Python) —
+ https://github.com/shimming-toolbox/shimming-toolbox.
## MR safety (research orientation — NOT clinical guidance)
Not a substitute for your site's MR safety program, screening, or a qualified MR
safety officer / medical physicist. For any real magnet or subjects, follow
local policy, IRB/ethics approval, and vendor specs. Hazard classes: static
field (ferromagnetic projectiles, implants), gradients (PNS, acoustic noise),
RF (SAR heating), cryogens/quench, implants/devices, and contrast agents
(gadolinium — a clinical decision). References:
- ACR Manual on MR Safety — https://www.acr.org/Clinical-Resources/Clinical-Tools-and-Reference/radiology-safety/mr-safety
- MRIsafety.com (Shellock) — https://www.mrisafety.com/
- ISMRM — https://www.ismrm.org/
Deeper reference:
https://github.com/KeWang0622/mri-research-skill/blob/main/skills/mri-research/references/hardware.md