Patent Grant
7061239
The present invention relates to check weighing material in a container, while the container is moving in a production line, using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method for maintaining the magnetic field used for NMR measurement substantially constant.
The use of NMR techniques in measurement, detection and imaging has become desirable in many scientific fields of endeavor. The non-invasive, non-destructive nature of NMR has facilitated application to industrial instrumentation, analysis and control tasks, in a variety of applications, including but not limited to cosmetics, perfumes, industrial chemicals, biological samples and food products. As one example, check weighing is used by the pharmaceuticals industry for monitoring and regulating the amount of drug in a sealed glass vial during filling. The drug weight can be as small as a fraction of a gram, and is required to be weighed with an accuracy of a few percent or better, in a vial weighing tens of grams at a rate of several weighings per second.
International Patent Application No. WO 99/67606, incorporated herein by reference as if fully written out below, describes a check weighing system for samples on a production line using NMR techniques. This system includes a magnet for creating a static magnetic field over an interrogation zone to produce a net magnetisation within a sample located within the interrogation zone, and a RF coil for applying an alternating magnetic field over the interrogation zone to cause excitation of the sample according to the principles of NMR.
As is well known in the NMR art, after pulse excitation of the sample by the alternating magnetic field, the sample emits a signal induced in the RF coil, called the free induction decay (“FID”), from which much information, like sample mass (or weight) can be learned. The FID is directly proportional to the net magnetisation applied to the sample. Consequently, any variation in the applied magnetisation produces changes in the FID, including its frequency and spatial orientation, and effects the determination of sample weight obtained from the FID. When a single NMR measurement is being made, a NMR spectrometer may be manually calibrated and proper results achieved. However, when multiple NMR measurements are being made over time, as is the case when weight checking of containers in a production line is in continuous operation, the magnetic fields drift because of temperature variations in the magnets used to generate those magnetic fields. Thus, in such applications it is imperative to monitor and correct for variations in the magnetic fields. Adjusting the NMR magnetic field in this manner insures that the resonance frequency remains at the resonant frequency of the sample, and improves the accuracy and precision of the determined weight.
It is desirable to provide a method for insuring that the characteristics of the magnetic field used in a NMR check weighing system for samples on a production line track deviations from the resonant frequency of the sample.
There is provided a method for use in a magnetic resonance check weighing system for samples on a production line, the magnetic resonance check weighing system having a magnetic field, including the steps of:
obtaining a free induction decay signal from a magnetic resonance measurement of the sample,
monitoring from the free induction decay signal the deviation of the resonance frequency of the magnetic resonance measurement from a preselected resonance frequency; and
adjusting the magnetic field to maintain the preselected resonance frequency.
A method in accordance with the present invention is indicated generally by the numeral 10 in
Check weighing station 24 uses NMR techniques to determine the mass of the drug sample within each of the vials 22. As those ordinarily skilled in the art will appreciate, glass vials are useful as the container, because they do not give a signal that might interfere with the measurement process. In this embodiment, check weighing station 24 includes a permanent magnet 34, RF probe 35 (shown diagrammatically in
In most NMR systems, the static magnetic field strength is such that the Larmor frequency of the sample is in the radio frequency range of the electromagnetic spectrum. Applying an alternating current (AC) magnetic field to the sample at the sample's Larmor frequency and orientated orthogonal to the static magnetic field, will cause the sample's net magnetisation to rotate about the AC magnetic field's axis, away from the direction of the static field. In this embodiment, this magnetic field is generated by applying a corresponding AC current to the RF probe 35. Varying the amount of energy delivered to the RF probe 35 can vary the angle of rotation of the net magnetisation.
In this exemplified embodiment, an excitation field that causes a 90° rotation is used to excite the sample. After the 90° pulse has been applied to the sample, the sample is left in a high-energy, non-equilibrium state, from which it will relax back to its original state of equilibrium. As it relaxes, electromagnetic energy at the Larmor frequency is emitted, the magnetic component of which induces a sample reply signal known as the Free Induction Decay (“FID”) in the form of current in the RF probe 35.
RF probe 35 monitors energy emitted by the sample as the net magnetisation of the sample returns to its original state and generates an output signal having a characteristic which is proportional to the energy emitted. In the present example a characteristic of the induced current, i.e., amplitude, varies with, among other things, the number of magnetic moments in the sample and hence the number of molecules in the sample. The received signal is then passed to the computer control system 36, which compares the amplitude of the signal received from the unknown sample, with the amplitude of a signal received from a calibration sample with a known mass (or weight), to determine the mass (or weight) of the sample being tested.
For illustrative purposes, but not by way of limitation, the general operation of the NMR check weighing system 24 as shown in
At the instant in time when vial 22 is in position PM, a brief energization of RF probe 35 is triggered, applying an alternating magnetic field in interrogation zone 40 such that the net magnetisation of the sample in vial 22 is temporarily changed. RF probe 35 monitors the energy emitted by the sample in vial 22 as the net magnetisation of the sample returns to its original state of equilibrium, and generates an output signal having a characteristic which is proportional to the energy emitted, such as current amplitude. Computer control system 36 receives the RF probe 35 output signal. Processor 38 compares the current amplitude or other output signal characteristic with like data obtained from at least one similar sample of known mass, and determines the mass of the sample from the results of the comparison.
The skilled artisan will understand that most NMR spectrometers digitize and store FID signal data each time a NMR measurement is performed. As a result, in the first step 50 shown in
Next, in step 52 (shown in
As explained above, method 10 causes the magnetic field to continuously monitor deviations in the resonance frequency. Consequently, at least one characteristic of the magnetic field must be adjusted. The adjusting device may introduce an electrical signal gain factor into the adjustment of the magnetic field. In step 60, any gain effects are removed before the magnetic field is adjusted. This may be accomplished by any of the recognized techniques known in the art, such as extracting the resonance frequencies for operation at maximum and minimum field strengths, calculating a “full scale” resonance frequency difference, and applying to each magnetic field adjustment a correction factor that is a ratio of the change in resonance frequency with the full scale resonance frequency difference.
In step 62 the previously mentioned tracking adjustment of a magnetic field characteristic, such as magnitude of the main magnetic field, is carried out. The skilled artisan will appreciate a variety of methods by which magnetic field adjustment may be accomplished. Perhaps the most simple is to adjust, in step 64, one or more so-called shim electromagnets commonly included on NMR spectrometers by varying the output value from the digital to analog converter typically provided to control the magnitude (power) of the magnetic field generated by the shim electromagnet. Altering the spatial orientation of the position of the sample under test to the magnetic field is also capable of providing the necessary magnetic field adjustment. For example, the poles of a magnet might be moved closer together or further apart. Additionally, the location of other components of NMR check weighing system 20 such as RF coil 35 might be moved.
It will be understood that the embodiments described herein are merely exemplary and that a person skilled in the art may make many variations and modifications without departing from spirit and scope of the invention. The various embodiments may be practiced in the alternative, or in combination, as appropriate. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.
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