Currently in 40 luminary labs around the world, 7T MR is proving to be a powerful instrument for imaging the human brain. While the same potential exists for whole-body imaging at 7T, the radiofrequency coil technology and methods critical to realizing this potential have yet to be developed. In this proposal, we plan to solve this problem by developing the new technology and methods required. A progressive series of three new coils is proposed. The first coil solves problems of transmit field inefficiency and inhomogeneity for body imaging, with a close fitting, 16 channel TEM conformal array design with efficient shield capacitance decoupling. The second coil progresses directly from the first with automatic tuning and matching, an innovation of huge importance for multi-channel transmit coils. The third coil combines the second, auto- tuned multi-channel transmitter with a 32 channel receiver for best transmit efficiency, control, receive sensitivity and parallel imaging performance. This final coil will make safe, research grade, whole body imaging possible for the first time at 7T, with the inherent benefits of unprecedented SNR and imaging speeds. Phase II will pursue refinements and commercialization of this coil on Siemens, GE, and Philips 7T research and 3T clinical systems.
Currently in 40 luminary labs around the world, 7T MR is proving to be a powerful instrument for imaging the human brain. While the same potential exists for whole-body imaging at 7T, the radiofrequency coil technology and methods critical to realizing this potential have yet to be developed. This proposal has a progressive plan for developing the innovations required to transform 7T MRI into a powerful tool for whole- body imaging.
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| Keith, Graeme A; Rodgers, Christopher T; Hess, Aaron T et al. (2015) Automated tuning of an eight-channel cardiac transceive array at 7 tesla using piezoelectric actuators. Magn Reson Med 73:2390-7 |
