Integrated parallel reception, excitation, and shimming (iPRES)

Purpose: To develop a new concept for a hardware platform that enables integrated parallel reception, excitation, and shimming. Theory: This concept uses a single coil array rather than separate arrays for parallel excitation/reception and B 0 shimming. It relies on a novel design that allows a radiofrequency current (for excitation/reception) and a direct current (for B 0 shimming) to coexist independently in the same coil. Methods: Proof‐of‐concept B 0 shimming experiments were performed with a two‐coil array in a phantom, whereas B 0 shimming simulations were performed with a 48‐coil array in the human brain. Results: Our experiments show that individually optimized direct currents applied in each coil can reduce the B 0 root‐mean‐square error by 62–81% and minimize distortions in echo‐planar images. The simulations show that dynamic shimming with the 48‐coil integrated parallel reception, excitation, and shimming array can reduce the B 0 root‐mean‐square error in the prefrontal and temporal regions by 66–79% as compared with static second‐order spherical harmonic shimming and by 12–23% as compared with dynamic shimming with a 48‐coil conventional shim array. Conclusion: Our results demonstrate the feasibility of the integrated parallel reception, excitation, and shimming concept to perform parallel excitation/reception and B 0 shimming with a unified coil system as well as its promise for in vivo applications.