System and apparatus for balancing radial forces in a gradient coil

The invention provides a system and an apparatus for balancing radial forces in a gradient coil. A gradient coil apparatus (304, 404) for a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system includes an inner gradient coil assembly (324, 424) and an outer gradient coil assembly (326, 426) disposed around the inner gradient coil assembly. The outer gradient coil assembly has an outer surface, a first end (344, 444) and a second end (346, 446). The gradient coil apparatus also includes a force balancing apparatus disposed around the outer surface of the outer gradient coil assembly. In one embodiment, the force balancing apparatus includes an active force balancing coil (352, 354) disposed around the outer surface of the outer gradient coil assembly. In another embodiment, the force balancing apparatus includes a first passive conducting strip (470) disposed around the first end (444) of the outer gradient coil assembly and a second passive conducting strip (472) disposed around the second end (444) of the outer gradient