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Benchtop Interface for RF Coils Compatible with Tim 4G

An electronic interface for research and development on radio frequency coils built for Siemens Healthineers Tim 4G.

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We are making available interface devices for RF coils compatible with Siemens Healthineers Tim 4G systems upon request. The interface is a benchtop electronic device that facilitates the development, testing, and troubleshooting of custom-designed RF coils.

Photograph of the interface for Tim 4G.
The interface has more than 20 ports for connections to RF laboratory instruments. A proprietary Tim 4G RF coil socket supports up to 24 coil elements. The unit is 485 mm wide, 215 mm deep, and 135 mm high. All photos: Pawel Slabiak/NYU Langone Health.

The interface we offer for Tim 4G replicates vendor-specific connector signal and bias pathways on Siemens Healthineers Tim 4G systems and facilitates testing coil prototypes for such properties as coil-to-scanner connectivity, tuning/detuning, preamplifier decoupling, stability, and gain.

The interface supports frequency multiplexing hardware incorporated in Siemens Healthineers Tim 4G scanners, allowing a single proprietary connector to support up to 24 coil elements.

Our device de-multiplexes coil signals via local oscillators and a frequency mixer, making the signals suitable for assessment on a network or spectrum analyzer (not included) at the 3 T Larmor frequency. The interface features current-limiting circuits and fuses that protect against faults and is equipped with connections to legacy, auxiliary, and coil code lines.

Specifications

  • Tim 4G 24 Rx / 1 Tx socket
  • Integrated local oscillators and mixer for 3 T coils
  • 2x BNC connections for (optional) user-provided local oscillators, i.e. for 1.5 T coils
  • Upper / lower sideband selection switch
  • 12x forward / reverse bias switches
  • Power, sense, and bias fault indicators
  • 1x BNC connection for optional 10 V provision for legacy Tim coils
  • 1x BNC connection for Tx
  • 2x Phoenix connections for EEPROM coil code and auxiliary lines
  • 485 mm width x 215 mm depth x 135 mm height
Photograph of the interface for Tim 4G, with a plug attached.
The interface connects with a Tim 4G plug (not included) through a top-mounted 24 Rx / 1 Tx socket.

Contact and Requests

Interested researchers should email Ryan Brown, PhD, at Ryan.Brown@nyulangone.org and include the phrase “Tim 4G Interface” in the subject line.

Interfaces for Tim 4G are shared at cost, which is approximately $5,000 and may vary somewhat depending on the prices of parts at the time of the written request. Scientists requesting a device can expect that our team will share its expertise with them.

Access to the Tim 4G technology requires participation in the Siemens Healthineers MAGNETOM Local Coil Program.

Contributors

  • Douglas Brantner
  • Bili Wang
  • Jerzy Walczyk
  • Jan Paska
  • Ryan Brown

Note

Siemens Healthineers Tim 4G is a Siemens Healthineers trademark not affiliated with or endorsed by the Center for Advanced Imaging Innovation and Research, NYU Langone Health, or New York University. More information about Siemens Healthineers Tim 4G can be found at www.siemens-healthineers.com/en-us/magnetic-resonance-imaging/technologies-and-innovations/tim-technology.

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