Black body and transverse electromagnetic resonators operating at 340 MHz: volume RF coils for ultra high field MRI.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this work was to describe the newly formulated black body (BB) resonator with historical perspective and to outline the construction and assembly of the transverse electromagnetic (TEM) RF coil for use in ultra high field MRI (UHFMRI) studies at 340 MHz.


METHODS
TEM and BB resonators were machined from acrylic and Teflon tubing, copper foil, and brass connectors. Tuning was accomplished through adjustable TEM elements. Variable Teflon-based capacitors were utilized to provide matching to the 50 omega line. The TEM resonator operated in quadrature, and the BB resonator operated in linear mode. The final resonators were fully adjustable from 63 to 430 MHz. Quality (Q) values were measured using a network analyzer over this frequency range for the unloaded and loaded coils. Coil performance was also evaluated using gradient and spin echo imaging at 8 T.


RESULTS
Both resonators yielded excellent images from mineral oil phantoms, with good homogeneity throughout the imaging volume. The BB resonator was characterized with enhanced signal-to-noise ratio and greatly reduced RF power requirements relative to the TEM resonator. Images obtained from the human head at 8 T with the TEM resonator were also excellent. Tuning remains a tedious process.


CONCLUSIONS
The TEM resonator provides an excellent RF coil for imaging studies up to 340 MHz. Its homogeneity reliability remains to be improved. In part as a result of its inability to sustain radiative loses, the BB resonator has extremely low RF power requirements. The BB resonator may have important uses in limiting RF power requirements and enhancing signal-to-noise ratio at other frequencies. Larger slightly modified versions may also prove useful in human imaging, depending on tolerances and final quality factors.
Robitaille
P M
PM
Center for Advanced Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Ohio State University, Columbus 43210, USA.
D000180:Acrylic Resins; D000497:Alloys; D019985:Benchmarking; D003300:Copper; D011211:Electric Power Supplies; D055590:Electromagnetic Phenomena / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004582:Electronics, Medical / Q000295:instrumentation; D004867:Equipment Design; D006257:Head / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000295:instrumentation; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000295:instrumentation*; D008899:Mineral Oil; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D011138:Polytetrafluoroethylene; D011846:Radio Waves; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; D015032:Zinc
D000180:Acrylic Resins; D000497:Alloys; C048399:brass; D003300:Copper; D008899:Mineral Oil; D011138:Polytetrafluoroethylene; D015032:Zinc