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96‐Channel receive‐only head coil for 3 Tesla: Design optimization and evaluation
Author(s) -
Wiggins Graham C.,
Polimeni Jonathan R.,
Potthast Andreas,
Schmitt Melanie,
Alagappan Vijay,
Wald Lawrence L.
Publication year - 2009
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.22028
Subject(s) - electromagnetic coil , signal to noise ratio (imaging) , channel (broadcasting) , imaging phantom , radiofrequency coil , head (geology) , phased array , noise (video) , acoustics , coupling (piping) , physics , nuclear magnetic resonance , materials science , optics , computer science , telecommunications , geology , quantum mechanics , geomorphology , artificial intelligence , antenna (radio) , metallurgy , image (mathematics)
Abstract The benefits and challenges of highly parallel array coils for head imaging were investigated through the development of a 3T receive‐only phased‐array head coil with 96 receive elements constructed on a close‐fitting helmet‐shaped former. We evaluated several designs for the coil elements and matching circuitry, with particular attention to sources of signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) loss, including various sources of coil loading and coupling between the array elements. The SNR and noise amplification ( g ‐factor) in accelerated imaging were quantitatively evaluated in phantom and human imaging and compared to a 32‐channel array built on an identical helmet‐shaped former and to a larger commercial 12‐channel head coil. The 96‐channel coil provided substantial SNR gains in the distal cortex compared to the 12‐ and 32‐channel coils. The central SNR for the 96‐channel coil was similar to the 32‐channel coil for optimum SNR combination and 20% lower for root‐sum‐of‐squares combination. There was a significant reduction in the maximum g ‐factor for 96 channels compared to 32; for example, the 96‐channel maximum g ‐factor was 65% of the 32‐channel value for acceleration rate 4. The performance of the array is demonstrated in highly accelerated brain images. Magn Reson Med, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

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