Eight‐channel transmit/receive body MRI coil at 3T

TLDR

Multichannel transmit MRI systems can compensate for signal‑intensity variations at high field strengths caused by wave propagation, using RF shimming, local excitation, and parallel transmission, but this requires new hardware. This article describes the design of a decoupled eight‑element transmit/receive body coil for 3 T. The coil is built from standard single‑channel resonators, with careful decoupling to create independent RF elements, and its design is grounded in theory that outlines its properties and limitations. RF measurements and MRI sequences confirm the coil’s functionality and capabilities. © 2007 Wiley‑Liss, Inc.; Magn Reson Med 58:381–389.

Abstract

Abstract Multichannel transmit magnetic resonance imaging (MR) systems have the potential to compensate for signal‐intensity variations occurring at higher field strengths due to wave propagation effects in tissue. Methods such as RF shimming and local excitation in combination with parallel transmission can be applied to compensate for these effects. Moreover, parallel transmission can be applied to ease the excitation of arbitrarily shaped magnetization patterns. The implementation of these methods adds new requirements in terms of MRI hardware. This article describes the design of a decoupled eight‐element transmit/receive body coil for 3T. The setup of the coil is explained, starting with standard single‐channel resonators. Special focus is placed on the decoupling of the elements to obtain independent RF resonators. After a brief discussion of the underlying theory, the properties and limitations of the coil are outlined. Finally, the functionality and capabilities of the coil are demonstrated using RF measurements as well as MRI sequences. Magn Reson Med 58:381–389, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.