SMP chokes give quiet operation in CT scanners

Sintermetalle Prometheus has developed chokes for use in computed tomography that are quiet in operation as well as being low loss and energy efficient.

This has been achieved with non-magnetostrictive materials that have been developed specially for use in medical equipment.

SMP has developed chokes for a German manufacturer of CT scanners.

The inductive components are installed in gradient amplifiers, which supply output voltages and currents that are used to control the gradient coils.

These encode the resonance signals for subsequent image reconstruction.

The filter and mains chokes have the task of insuring a clean sinusoidal waveform within the gradient amplifiers and must insure a low-loss feedback of the unused energy.

The chokes are made from non-magnetostrictive powder composites.

Developed by SMP specifically for this application, these materials allow the design of low-noise chokes to minimise the humming noise that CT scanners generate during operation.

The chokes' compact design saves space in the control cabinet, which is located immediately next to the scanner itself.

SMP's chokes are also used in photovoltaics, wind turbines and in railway engineering.

For these and other applications in power electronics, power generation and instrumentation and control, SMP supplies inductive components for frequencies up to 200kHz and current ratings up to 1000A.

Depending on their application, they are constructed as single-conductor chokes for high-current applications, single-phase individual chokes, three-phase choke modules or LC filters.

These components offer a high-energy-storage capacity in a compact design, as well as reduced losses and good EMC characteristics.

SMP manufactures all components to customer specifications using in-house-developed powder composites.

All products are RoHS- and Reach-compliant and the materials used are UL-listed.

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