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Improved receiver coil for upper thoracic spine imaging in a vertical magnetic field
Author(s) -
Malmgren Lars,
Ståhlberg Freddy,
Holtås Stig,
Larsson ElnaMarie,
Persson Bertil R. R.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
journal of magnetic resonance imaging
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.563
H-Index - 160
eISSN - 1522-2586
pISSN - 1053-1807
DOI - 10.1002/jmri.1880020212
Subject(s) - electromagnetic coil , imaging phantom , radiofrequency coil , image quality , medicine , thoracic spine , magnetic resonance imaging , biomedical engineering , nuclear medicine , radiology , anatomy , computer science , physics , artificial intelligence , quantum mechanics , image (mathematics)
To improve image quality in the upper thoracic spine, an anatomically shaped copper wire loop coil, made to fit over the patient's shoulders, was constructed. The coil was permanently mounted on a foam‐rubber vest to facilitate attachment to the patient. Phantom and in vivo studies of the performance of the coil in healthy volunteers showed as much as a two times greater signal‐to‐noise ratio relative to that of standard coils for the upper thoracic spine. In a patient with lesions in the upper thoracic cord, the coil gave better image quality in the region of interest than did the standard coils. The coil has been integrated into the authors' routine imaging equipment and has been the coil of choice for imaging of the upper thoracic spine on their 0.3‐T vertical field system.