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Design of a forward view antenna for prostate imaging at 7 T
Author(s) -
Steensma Bart R.,
Voogt Ingmar,
Werf Abe J.,
Berg Cornelis A.T.,
Luijten Peter R.,
Klomp Dennis W.J.,
Raaijmakers Alexander J.E.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
nmr in biomedicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.278
H-Index - 114
eISSN - 1099-1492
pISSN - 0952-3480
DOI - 10.1002/nbm.3993
Subject(s) - dipole antenna , physics , imaging phantom , antenna (radio) , optics , antenna array , antenna measurement , coaxial antenna , specific absorption rate , acoustics , dipole , computer science , telecommunications , quantum mechanics
Purpose To design a forward view antenna for prostate imaging at 7 T, which is placed between the legs of the subject in addition to a dipole array. Materials and methods The forward view antenna is realized by placing a cross‐dipole antenna at the end of a small rectangular waveguide. Quadrature drive of the cross‐dipole can excite a circularly polarized wave propagating along the axial direction to and from the prostate region. Functioning of the forward view antenna is validated by comparing measurements and simulations. Antenna performance is evaluated by numerical simulations and measurements at 7 T. Results Simulations of B 1 + on a phantom are in good correspondence with measurements. Simulations on a human model indicate that the signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR), specific absorption rate (SAR) efficiency and SAR increase when adding the forward view antenna to a previously published dipole array. The SNR increases by up to 18% when adding the forward view antenna as a receive antenna to an eight‐channel dipole array in vivo. Conclusions A design for a forward view antenna is presented and evaluated. SNR improvements up to 18% are demonstrated when adding the forward view antenna to a dipole array.