Axial Field of View Expansion by Switchable Halbach Dipole Rings: A Simulation Study

Abstract In Magnetic particle imaging (MPI), the spatial encoding of the particle response is achieved by a magnetic gradient field called selection field. In this work a selection field generator based on two pairs of nested and freely rotatable Halbach cylinders in dipole configuration generating a gradient field in form of a linear field free region (FFR) is proposed. Through adequate rotation of the Halbach dipoles the FFR can be moved continuously along the cylinder axis. To understand and evaluate the movement of the FFR for different sequences of dipole rotations a simulation study is conducted. The simulation is based on the approximation of a permanent magnet’s field as a magnetic dipole field, so that the Halbach cylinder field results from the superposition of circularly arranged magnetic dipole moments. By the summation of four Halbach dipole fields the selection field can be calculated. It has turned out that the opposite rotation and the matching field strengths of the dipoles of a pair are prerequisites for the movement of the FFR. With regard to the gradient field strengths and the movement speed of the FFR within a potential imaging area, a phase-shifted rotation of two pairs seems promising for the use in MPI.