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Asymmetric quadrature split birdcage coil for hyperpolarized 3 He lung MRI at 1.5T
Author(s) -
De Zanche Nicola,
Chhivjeet,
Teh Kevin,
Randell Chris,
Pruessmann Klaas P.,
Wild Jim M.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
magnetic resonance in medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.696
H-Index - 225
eISSN - 1522-2594
pISSN - 0740-3194
DOI - 10.1002/mrm.21664
Subject(s) - electromagnetic coil , nuclear magnetic resonance , quadrature (astronomy) , homogeneous , physics , resonator , biomedical engineering , nuclear medicine , computer science , medicine , optics , quantum mechanics , thermodynamics
An asymmetric quadrature birdcage body coil for hyperpolarized (HP) 3 He lung imaging at 1.5T is presented. The coil is designed to rest on top of the patient support and be used as a temporary insert in a clinical system. A two‐part construction facilitates patient access and the asymmetric design makes maximal use of available bore space to ensure comfort. Highly homogeneous, circularly polarized RF magnetic fields are produced at 48.5 MHz using a conformal mapping method for the geometrical design, combined with an algebraic method to calculate the individual capacitance values on the birdcage coil's ladder network. Efficiency and isolation from the system's proton body coil are ensured by an integrated RF screen. The design methodology is readily applicable to other field strengths or nuclei. Improvements over existing 3 He coils were found in terms of sensitivity and transmit field homogeneity, an important feature in HP MRI. Magn Reson Med 60:431–438, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.