Uniform prostate imaging and spectroscopy at 7 T: comparison between a microstrip array and an endorectal coil.
An endorectal coil and an eight-element microstrip array were compared for prostate imaging at 7 T. An extensive radiofrequency safety assessment was performed with the use of finite difference time domain simulations to determine safe scan parameters. These simulations showed that the endorectal coil can deliver substantially more B(1)(+) to the prostate than can the microstrip array within the specific absorption rate safety guidelines. However, the B(1)(+) field of the endorectal coil is very inhomogeneous, which makes the use of adiabatic pulses compulsory for T(1) - or T(2) -weighted imaging. As a consequence, a full prostate examination is only possible in a feasible amount of time when the microstrip array is used for T(1) - and T(2) -weighted imaging, whereas the endorectal coil is required for spectroscopic imaging. The pulse parameters were optimised within the specific absorption rate guidelines and thereafter used to provide a good illustration of the possibilities of prostate imaging at 7 T.
University Medical Centre Utrecht, Department of Radiotherapy, the Netherlands. bvandenbergen@hotmail.com
Bob
B
van den Bergen
Dennis W J
DW
Klomp
Alexander J E
AJ
Raaijmakers
Catalina Arteaga
CA
de Castro
Vincent O
VO
Boer
Hugo
H
Kroeze
Peter R
PR
Luijten
Jan J W
JJ
Lagendijk
Cornelis A T
CA
van den Berg
D003198:Computer Simulation; D006801:Humans; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D011467:Prostate / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D012007:Rectum / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013696:Temperature