SHIELDED ROOM CONSTRUCTION FOR CONTAINMENT OF FRINGE MAGNETIC FIELDS

A shielded room for containment of magnetic fringe fields generated by a magnet which forms part of an NMR scanner system utilizes wall members having a thickness proportional to the amount of flux conducted. In the preferred embodiments, the shielded room can have one of rectangular, cylindrical, or polygonal geometries, for example. The walls (floors and ceilings) are constructed from staggered plates to have increased thickness where flux is greatest, and correspondingly decreased thickness where the flux is lowest. The shielded room can be, additionally, provided with end-cap elements in the walls perpendicular to the base of the magnet. Preferentially, the end-cap elements are angled away from the side wall members toward the center of the room to more closely follow the flux path.