A Hall Effect-Based Force Sensing Mechanism for Force Sensing Inside Magnetic Resonance Imaging Scanner

Abstract

This letter proposes a Hall-effect-based MRI-safe force sensing mechanism. The proposed force sensing mechanism measures 1 degree-of-freedom force under the 3-T static magnetic field inside the bore of an MRI scanner by utilizing a Hall-effect sensor placed on the end of a cantilever beam. Specifically, the Hall-effect sensor detects the changes in the magnetic flux density when forces are applied to the cantilever beam and the orientation of the sensor attached to the cantilever beam changes. It outputs the voltage signals that are approximately proportional to the force applied. Experiments are conducted to evaluate the proposed force sensing mechanism's accuracy and repeatability.