OCRA Tabletop MRI System Status Update 2024

Hello OCRA and Tabletop community,

in this blog I will share the actual development status of the OCRA Tabletop MRI System hardware and the OCRA/Relax2.0 software. The 2024 OCRA Tabletop MRI System hardware development was mainly driven by the AgriPETMRI project at the Research Campus STIMULATE, were I work as leader for the MR System Engineering (MRSE) research group.

https://www.forschungscampus-stimulate.de/Forschung/AgriPETMRI.html

The goal of the project is to enable in-field measurements on plants like wheat or rice. To extend the OCRA Tabletop MRI System measurement volume (DSV of 15mm) to the size of elongated plants a “patient bar” was developed. The (plant) samples are moved in steps through the bore of the magnet and partial images can be acquired. The software was extended to stitch the images to a combined image.

Image1: OCRA Tabletop MRI System 2024. Right: Magnet in 6 unit 19″ rack box with RF chain, filtered gradient coils with 15mm diameter through hole bore (front-back) for long acrylic tubes (screw able inserts allow closed bore operation with chemical test tubes) and “patient bar”. Left: OCRA console in 1 unit 19″ rack box, gradient amplifier in 2 unit 19″ rack box.

The OCRA/Relax2.0 software offers a lot of new features. One highlight is the new layer viewer for 3D images or stitches 2D and 3D volumes. The layer viewer allows the scrolling though the volumes in all 3 iso-planes.

Image2: Relax2.0 – layer viewer. 3D printed plant like water displacer phantom. Image Stitching – 2D Spin Echo (ZX (cross-section), 5mm Slice).

More screenshots of OCRA/Relax2.0 can be seen here:

https://cloud.ovgu.de/s/Rz7KQEseYoit9E2

Image3: Chives sample and high resolution stitched image (composed to a 3D volume by a external 3D viewer – napari.

Since 2019, we’ve been offering the MR Systems Engineering course for students of the Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg. In the course students build components of the OCRA Tabletop MRI System and evaluate them. We teach their function and how they interact with each other. Also MR software training on how to use and calibrate the the OCRA Tabletop MRI System is part of the course.

Since 2023 we also offer a special MR Systems Engineering training course for external companies. The course duration is 9 days and for 6 to 8 participants. The course also contains clinical MRI showcases at the University Hospital Magdeburg and the Hannover Medical School. We did the course for Siemens Healthineers in summer of 2023 and summer of 2024.

Image4: MR System Engineering course with Siemens Healthineers 2024.

https://www.forschungscampus-stimulate.de/News_Presse/2024/KW31+MRSE_Kurs.html

If you have questions about the OCRA Tabletop MRI System and OCRA/Relax2.0, but also preassembled PCBs, Tabletop and OCRA components or even a whole OCRA Tabletop MRI System contact me via marcus.prier@ovgu.de.

Best regards,

Marcus

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