RF coil considerations for short-T2 MRI.
With continuing hardware and pulse sequence advancements, modern MRI is gaining sensitivity to signals from short-T(2) (1)H species under practical experimental conditions. However, conventional MRI coils are typically not designed for this type of application, as they often contain proton-rich construction materials that may contribute confounding (1)H background signal during short-T(2) measurements. An example of this is shown herein. Separately, a loop-gap style coil was used to compare different coil construction materials and configurations with respect to observed (1)H background signal sizes in a small animal imaging system. Background signal sources were spatially identified and quantified in a number of different coil configurations. It was found that the type and placement of structural coil materials around the loop-gap resonator, as well as the coil's shielding configuration, are critical determinants of the coil's background signal size. Although this study employed a loop-gap resonator design, these findings are directly relevant to standard volume coils commonly used for MRI.
Horch
R Adam
RA
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37232-2310, USA.
Wilkens
Ken
K
Gochberg
Daniel F
DF
Does
Mark D
MD
D002102:Cadaver; D003300:Copper; D004867:Equipment Design; D005269:Femur / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000295:instrumentation*; D011076:Polycarboxylate Cement; D011138:Polytetrafluoroethylene; D011846:Radio Waves
D011076:Polycarboxylate Cement; C005506:polycarbonate; D003300:Copper; D011138:Polytetrafluoroethylene