An important factor that limits the use of low-cost low-field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the reduced signal to noise ration (SNR) of low-field systems as compared to high-field machines. Superconducting detection coils would greatly enhance SNR. Conventional superconductors require liquid helium cooling, which would not be feasible for clinical use. However, the advent of high-temperature superconductors (HTSC) allows for the construction of liquid nitrogen-cooled coils with improvements in SNR of more than a factor of 3 over cooled copper coils for non-conducting samples, and 5% to 40% improvement for human images. We propose to build and test an HTSC surface coil that would be appropriate for clinical use in MRI machines.
| van Heteren, J G; James, T W; Bourne, L C (1994) Thin film high temperature superconducting RF coils for low field MRI. Magn Reson Med 32:396-400 |
