title: Enlargement of the field of view and maintenance of a high signal-to-noise ratio using a two-element high-Tc superconducting array in a 3T MRI.
abstract: This study examines the enlargement of the field of view (FOV) and the maintenance of a high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) through the use of two high-temperature superconducting (HTS) resonators in a 3T MRI. Two Bi(2)Sr(2)Ca(2)Cu(3)O(x) (Bi-2223) surface resonators, each of 4-cm diameter, were used in a 3T MRI. Professionally made copper resonators operate at 300 K, but each Bi-2223 resonator, operated at 77 K and demonstrated a 3.75 fold increase in SNR gain. For the same scanning time, the SNR of the images of a rat's brain and back, obtained using two small Bi-2223 surface resonators, was higher than that obtained using a single 8-cm surface resonator.
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary MRI/MRS Lab, Department of Electrical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: In-Tsang
authors.initials: IT
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Hong-Chang
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Jyh-Horng
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D051381:Rats; D059629:Signal-To-Noise Ratio