Development of Permanent Magnet Probe for Intravascular Magnetic Resonance Imaging Device

Intravascular magnetic resonance imaging is a new approach for the diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). This paper shows the design of a permanent magnet probe, including the structure configuration, the design parameters and the selected materials of the probe assembly. The effect of magnetization angles on the static magnetic field distribution is computed using Maxwell finite element (Ansoft) simulation, and the optimal magnetization angle of the permanent magnet is chosen for the probe design. Then equations of the static magnetic field distribution and the gradient distribution produced by the permanent magnet are given using data fitting method under the optimal angle. In conclusion, calculations and fitting results demonstrate the validity of the static magnetic field produced by the permanent magnet probe which could be used in the intravascular magnetic resonance imaging for detecting the CVDS accurately as well as operating easily.