Head-mounted active noise control system for MR noise

Recently, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) devices are used in many medical institutions on the grounds of safety and convenience. An open-configuration MR system is introduced at Shiga University of Medical Science in order to conduct microwave coagulation therapy by using near-real-time MR images. However, this system has a fatal defect. When MRI device works to take images, it also generates serious noises (MR noise). Hence, an operator and other medical staff (ex. nurses and anesthetists) suffer from MR noise and cannot communicate with each other during the operation. In this paper, we therefore propose a head-mounted ANC system in order to reduce the MR noise, and some experimental results demonstrate cancellation performance of the system implemented by digital signal processor (DSP).