title: Localized high-resolution MR imaging of rat brain architecture using micro-fabricated receive-only RF coil.
abstract: This study introduced a localized approach for magnetic resonance microscopy (MRM) of the rat brain. A single-loop radiofrequency (RF) receiver coil designed for micro-imaging was developed by using electromagnetic simulation software widely used in communication fields. With transmit-only and receive-only (TORO) configuration, receive-only surface coil can achieve higher signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at localized brain region. Corpus callosum and hippocampus were landmarks to evaluate the capacity of the proposed coil. On a 3T MRI system, high-resolution MRI of the dissected rat brain was acquired with spatial resolution of 117x117x500 microm3. The achieved high local SNR and spatial resolution will provide valuable information for resolving the architecture of the rat brain.
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary MRI/MRS Lab, Department of Electrical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan. stanleyhsieh@me.ee.ntu.edu.tw
authors.forename: Meng-Chi
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Hsieh
authors.forename: Li-Wei
authors.initials: LW
authors.lastname: Kuo
authors.forename: Edzer L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Jyh-Horng
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000166:cytology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000662:veterinary*; D008280:Magnetics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D008904:Miniaturization; D051381:Rats; D014159:Transducers