Hyperpolarized Helium3 Project

1
Hyperpolarized Helium-3 Project
James Maurice Daniels
Advanced Liquid Crystal Technologies, Inc. POB
1314, Summit, NJ 07902-1314 USA
Making a portable, fully automated machine to
produce Hyperpolarized Helium-3 for enhanced Lung
MRI.
Partially supported by Philip Morris, USA and
NIH.Phase I SBIR
Main technical innovation miniaturization and
automation
2
Some Ingredients

• MEOP Laser (TBA)
• Automated Helium circuit - glass
• Automated valve for Toeppler pump
• Automatically maintains discharge
• Hyperpolarimeter using Robinson Circuit and
  uniform field coils

3
Hyperpolarimeter Principles
Oscillation frequencies (f) as a function of
field (H) for LC circuit plus sample of polarized
3He. As H increases, a field, X, is reached where
the system can no longer oscillate at that mode
so it jumps to the other mode. The jump in
frequency is proportional to the polarization.
4
Example of Frequency Jump
R. Timsit and JMD, Rev. Sci. Instrum. (USA)  47,
953 (1976)
5
Items to test concept
Oscillating magnetic field 10-6 Gauss only
about 10 times thermal noise. Polarized 3 He
feels a very weak magnetic field at an
off-resonance frequency, hence hardly disturbed.
Uniform field coils
6
Perspectives
MEOP