title: A parallel imaging approach to wide-field MR microscopy.
abstract: Magnetic resonance microscopy, suggested in the earliest papers on MRI, has always been limited by the low signal-to-noise ratio resulting from the small voxel size. Magnetic resonance microscopy has largely been enabled by the use of microcoils that provide the signal-to-noise ratio improvement required to overcome this limitation. Concomitant with the small coils is a small field-of-view, which limits the use of magnetic resonance microscopy as a histological tool or for imaging large regions in general. This article describes initial results in wide field-of-view magnetic resonance microscopy using a large array of narrow, parallel coils, which provides a signal-to-noise ratio enhancement as well as the ability to use parallel imaging techniques. Comparison images made between a volume coil and the proposed technique demonstrate reductions in imaging time of more than 100 with no loss in signal-to-noise ratio or resolution.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA. mpmcdougall@tamu.edu
authors.forename: Mary Preston
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: McDougall
authors.forename: Steven M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Wright
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000295:instrumentation*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000295:instrumentation*; D008280:Magnetics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D008853:Microscopy / Q000295:instrumentation*; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000295:instrumentation*; D013382:Subtraction Technique / Q000295:instrumentation*