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Design and comparison of two eight‐channel transmit/receive radiofrequency arrays for in vivo rodent imaging on a 7 T human whole‐body MRI system
Author(s) -
Orzada Stephan,
Maderwald Stefan,
Göricke Sophia L.,
Parohl Nina,
Ladd Susanne C.,
Ladd Mark E.,
Quick Harald H.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
medical physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.473
H-Index - 180
eISSN - 2473-4209
pISSN - 0094-2405
DOI - 10.1118/1.3378478
Subject(s) - radiofrequency coil , electromagnetic coil , phased array , imaging phantom , stripline , radio frequency , magnetic resonance imaging , image resolution , parallel communication , physics , biomedical engineering , nuclear magnetic resonance , computer science , optics , antenna (radio) , telecommunications , engineering , medicine , radiology , quantum mechanics , transmission (telecommunications)
Purpose: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of rodents can be expected to be a growing application, particularly when translatory imaging research “from mouse to man” is envisioned. 7 T high‐field human whole‐body MR systems provide a powerful platform for high‐resolution small animal imaging. For achieving adequate spatial resolution, dedicated radiofrequency coils have to be designed to provide the necessary signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR). Methods: Two different multichannel transmit/receive radiofrequency (RF) arrays for high‐resolution imaging of rodents on a human whole‐body 7 T MR system have been developed and evaluated in comparative in vitro phantom experiments and in vivo experiments in rats. The first coil was a one‐channel birdcage RF transmit/eight‐channel loop RF receive phased‐array coil; the second coil was an eight‐channel RF transmit/receive stripline phased‐array coil with inverted microstrip lines—A coil design that here is described for the first time for dedicated small animal MR imaging. Results: Both coil setups provided the high SNR necessary for high‐resolution MRI in rodents. The eight‐channel loop RF array, with its larger inner diameter and transparent layout, provided better overall signal homogeneity and enabled easy visual monitoring; the eight‐channel stripline RF array provided overall higher SNR and better parallel imaging acceleration performance. Conclusions: The results show that both coil designs are suitable for small animal imaging on 7 T whole‐body systems; the preferred coil depends on the demands of the application.