Design and Optimization of a Novel Bored Biplanar Permanent-Magnet Assembly for Hybrid Magnetic Resonance Imaging Systems

We present a novel design for a biplanar permanent-magnet assembly suitable for use in hybrid magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems. The key feature of our design is a large cylindrical hole that is longitudinally bored through the entire magnet assembly. The presence of the bore permits the potential inclusion of additional peripheral devices within or near the magnet structure that may benefit from being placed along, or oriented parallel to, the main magnetic field. In particular, the magnet assembly can be considered for use in an integrated system consisting of a 6 MV medical linear accelerator (linac) coupled to an MRI system for state-of-the-art real-time image-guided adaptive radiotherapy. We use magnetic field calculations based on the finite-element method (FEM) to quantify the detrimental effects of the bore on the field homogeneity in the imaging volume for pole-piece designs found commonly in industry. We then demonstrate that shape optimization of the pole pieces yields novel pole designs that lead to suitable levels of field homogeneity. We examined the resultant magnetic field within the bore for the optimized design and found that it has maximum field homogeneity.