ROBUST AUTOMATIC SHIMMING ALGORITHM FOR NMR SYSTEMS

MOST APPLICATIONS OF HIGH-RESOLUTIONS SOLUTION PHASE NMR REQUIRE MAGNETIC FIELDS OF VERY HIGH HOMOGENEITY TO OBTAIN MAXIMUM SPECTRAL DETAIL AND SENSITIVITY. A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF TIME IS SPENT BY OPERATORS OF NMR SYSTEMS ADJUSTING THE MAGNETIC FIELD HOMOGENEITY OF THE NMR MAGNET. COMMERCIAL AUTOMATIC "SHIMMING" ALGORITHMS ARE AVAILABLE TO AUTOMATE THIS PROCESS, BUT THEY ARE NOT VERY ROBUST. THE PURPOSE OF THE RESEARCH IS TO DEVELOP AND DEMONSTRATE A NEW ROBUST ALGORITHM FOR AUTOMATICALLY ADJUSTING THE MAGNETIC FIELD HOMOGENEITY OF NMR MAGNETS. ROBUST AUTOMATIC SHIMMING ALGORITHM WILL GREATLY SIMPLIFY THE USE OF NMR SPECTROMETERS FOR APPLICATIONS IN BIOMEDICAL AND BIOMOLECULAR RESEARCH. IN ADDITION, SUCH AN ALGORITHM WILL IMPROVE THE PERFORMANCE OF FULLY AUTOMATED NMR SYSTEMS,AND HAVE WIDE APPLICABILITY IN MANY AREAS OF NMR RESEARCH. THE DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING O A ROBUST AUTOMATIC SHIMMING ALGORITHM IS THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVE OF PHASE I. UPON THE SUCCESSFUL DEMONSTRATION OF THE ALGORITHM, IT WILL BE IMPLEMENTED TO CONTROL THE AUTOMATIC SHIMMING SYSTEM OF A COMMERCIAL NMR SPECTROMETER IN PHASE II. THE PHASE II RESEARCH WILL BE CONDUCTED IN COLLABORATION WITH A UNIVERSITY OR INDUSTRIAL LABORATORY. PHASE III COMMERCIALIZATION WILL BE UNDERTAKEN IN COLLABORATION WITH AN NMR VENDOR. MOST APPLICATIONS OF HIGH-RESOLUTIONS SOLUTION PHASE NMR REQUIRE MAGNETIC FIELDS OF VERY HIGH HOMOGENEITY TO OBTAIN MAXIMUM SPECTRAL DETAIL AND SENSITIVITY. A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF TIME IS SPENT BY OPERATORS OF NMR SYSTEMS ADJUSTING THE MAGNETIC FIELD HOMOGENEITY OF THE NMR MAGNET. COMMERCIAL AUTOMATIC "SHIMMING" ALGORITHMS ARE AVAILABLE TO AUTOMATE THIS PROCESS, BUT THEY ARE NOT VERY ROBUST. THE PURPOSE OF THE RESEARCH IS TO DEVELOP AND DEMONSTRATE A NEW ROBUST ALGORITHM FOR AUTOMATICALLY ADJUSTING THE MAGNETIC FIELD HOMOGENEITY OF NMR MAGNETS. ROBUST AUTOMATIC SHIMMING ALGORITHM WILL GREATLY SIMPLIFY THE USE OF NMR SPECTROMETERS FOR APPLICATIONS IN BIOMEDICAL AND BIOMOLECULAR RESEARCH. IN ADDITION, SUCH AN ALGORITHM WILL IMPROVE THE PERFORMANCE OF FULLY AUTOMATED NMR SYSTEMS,AND HAVE WIDE APPLICABILITY IN MANY AREAS OF NMR RESEARCH. THE DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING O A ROBUST AUTOMATIC SHIMMING ALGORITHM IS THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVE OF PHASE I. UPON THE SUCCESSFUL DEMONSTRATION OF THE ALGORITHM, IT WILL BE IMPLEMENTED TO CONTROL THE AUTOMATIC SHIMMING SYSTEM OF A COMMERCIAL NMR SPECTROMETER IN PHASE II. THE PHASE II RESEARCH WILL BE CONDUCTED IN COLLABORATION WITH A UNIVERSITY OR INDUSTRIAL LABORATORY. PHASE III COMMERCIALIZATION WILL BE UNDERTAKEN IN COLLABORATION WITH AN NMR VENDOR.