Claims
- 1. An actuator for use in magnetic resonance imaging, comprising:
an actuator device having an elastomeric dielectric film with a first compliant electrode and a second compliant electrode, and a frame element of a magnetic resonance imaging device attached to at least a portion of the actuator device.
- 2. The actuator of claim 1, wherein the elastomeric dielectric film comprises a plurality of layers of silicone.
- 3. The actuator of claim 1, wherein the elastomeric film comprises a plurality of layers of acrylic.
- 4. The actuator of claim 1, wherein the frame element further comprises a flexible member.
- 5. The actuator of claim 1, further comprising the frame element having a rigid member comprising one of parallel beams, curved beams, rods, and plates.
- 6. The actuator of claim 1, further comprising a device having a plurality of actuator stages.
- 7. The actuator of claim 1, further comprising an electrically resizable coil disposed on a portion of at least one of the first and the second surface of the elastomeric dielectric film.
- 8. The actuator of claim 1, wherein the frame element provides a linear actuation force characteristic over a displacement range.
- 9. A positioning device for use in magnetic resonance imaging of a region of interest having a plurality of stages, each stage of the device comprising:
an actuator device having an elastomer dielectric film with a first electrode and a second electrode; a frame element of a magnetic resonance imaging device attached to at least a portion of the actuator device; and an electrically resizable coil disposed on at least a portion of the actuator device to remotely control the location and focus of the region of interest.
- 10. The positioning device of claim 9, wherein the frame element provides a linear actuation force characteristic over a displacement range.
- 11. The positioning device of claim 9, wherein the frame further element comprises a rigid member coupled with a plurality of links.
- 12. The positioning device of claim 11, further comprising a bi-stable passive element coupled to the plurality of links.
- 13. The positioning device of claim 9, wherein the elastomer dielectric film comprises a plurality of layers of one of silicone and acrylic.
- 14. The positioning device of claim 9, wherein the frame element comprises of one of parallel beams, curved beams, rods and plates.
- 15. A probe for use in magnetic resonance imaging of a region of interest within a body, comprising:
an elongate shaft having a proximal end and a distal end; and an actuator device disposed in the distal end, the actuator device having an elastomeric dielectric film with a first compliant electrode and a second compliant electrode, the actuator device further having a frame element and a variable size receiver coil disposed thereon.
- 16. The probe of claim 15, wherein the variable size coil is remotely controllable.
- 17. The probe of claim 15, further comprising of a plurality of varying sizes for insertion into and deployment within a cavity.
- 18. A receiver coil for use in magnetic resonance imaging of a region of interest, comprising:
an actuator device having an elastomeric dielectric film with a first compliant electrode and a second compliant electrode; and a frame element of the magnetic resonance imaging device attached to at least a portion of the actuator device.
- 19. The receiver coil of claim 18, further comprising the frame element having at least one flexible member.
- 20. The receiver coil of claim 18, wherein the coil has a variable size that is remotely controllable.
- 21. The receiver coil of claim 18, wherein the coil is integrated in an intracavity probe.
- 22. A device to manipulate objects in a magnetic resonance imaging environment, comprising:
an actuator device having an elastomer dielectric film with a first electrode and a second electrode; a frame element of a magnetic imaging device attached to at least a portion of the actuator device; and an electrically resizable coil disposed on at least a portion of the elastomer dielectric film to remotely control the location and focus of the region of interest.
- 23. The device to manipulate objects of claim 22, wherein the frame element further comprises rigid members coupled with a plurality of links.
- 24. The device to manipulate objects of claim 23, further comprising a bi-stable passive element coupled to the plurality of links.
- 25. The device to manipulate objects of claim 22, wherein the elastomer dielectric film comprises a plurality of layers of one of silicone and acrylic.
- 26. The device to manipulate objects of claim 22, wherein the frame element further comprises of one of parallel beams, curved beams, rods and plates.
- 27. A device for applying oscillatory stress to an object for use in magnetic resonance imaging, comprising;
an actuator device having an elastomeric dielectric film with a first compliant electrode and a second compliant electrode, and a frame element of a magnetic resonance imaging device attached to at least a portion of the actuator device.
CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application claims the benefit of the U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/379,465 filed May 10, 2002. The entire contents of the above application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
GOVERNMENT SUPPORT
[0002] This invention was supported, in whole or in part, by contract number 6890031 from NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts. The Government has certain rights in the invention.
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60379465 |
May 2002 |
US |