Vibration analysis of low-field MRI using finite element analysis and experimental approach

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is powerful tool to diagnose human body. The vibration of gradient coil during image acquisition can degrade image quality. In this study, the vibration characteristics of the low field open configuration MRI system is investigated through finite element (FE) analysis and experimental measurements. The FE model was subjected to the harmonic excitation with Lorentz force and moments for pairs of X, Y and Z gradient coils individually and simultaneously. The acceleration measurements were acquired for generating slice, phase encoding and readout gradient types for different scan orientations. Results revealed that FE model predicts the vibration characteristics accurately with 1.15 % average deviation. The time and frequency domain results from the experimental investigations are important in understanding dynamic behaviour of gradient coil of MRI system for designing vibration attenuation strategy in MRI systems.