title: A semiflexible 64-channel receive-only phased array for pediatric body MRI at 3T.
abstract: To design, construct, and validate a semiflexible 64-channel receive-only phased array for pediatric body MRI at 3T.
  
  
  
  A 64-channel receive-only phased array was developed and constructed. The designed flexible coil can easily conform to different patient sizes with nonoverlapping coil elements in the transverse plane. It can cover a field of view of up to 44 × 28 cm(2) and removes the need for coil repositioning for body MRI patients with multiple clinical concerns. The 64-channel coil was compared with a 32-channel standard coil for signal-to-noise ratio and parallel imaging performances on different phantoms. With IRB approval and informed consent/assent, the designed coil was validated on 21 consecutive pediatric patients.
  
  
  
  The pediatric coil provided higher signal-to-noise ratio than the standard coil on different phantoms, with the averaged signal-to-noise ratio gain at least 23% over a depth of 7 cm along the cross-section of phantoms. It also achieved better parallel imaging performance under moderate acceleration factors. Good image quality (average score 4.6 out of 5) was achieved using the developed pediatric coil in the clinical studies.
  
  
  
  A 64-channel semiflexible receive-only phased array has been developed and validated to facilitate high quality pediatric body MRI at 3T. Magn Reson Med 76:1015-1021, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA.|Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: GE Healthcare, Waukesha, Wisconsin, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Grafendorfer
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA.|Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA.
authors.forename: Joseph Y
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA.
authors.forename: Peigang
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ning
authors.affiliation: GE Healthcare, Waukesha, Wisconsin, USA.
authors.forename: Bob
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rainey
authors.affiliation: GE Healthcare, Waukesha, Wisconsin, USA.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Giancola
authors.affiliation: GE Healthcare, Waukesha, Wisconsin, USA.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ortman
authors.affiliation: GE Healthcare, Waukesha, Wisconsin, USA.
authors.forename: Fraser J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Robb
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA.
authors.forename: Paul D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Calderon
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA.|Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA.
authors.forename: Brian A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Hargreaves
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA.|Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, University of California, Berkeley, California, USA.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lustig
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA.
authors.forename: Greig C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Scott
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA.
authors.forename: John M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Pauly
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA.
authors.forename: Shreyas S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Vasanawala
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000295:instrumentation*; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000295:instrumentation*; D008280:Magnetics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D008297:Male; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D059629:Signal-To-Noise Ratio; D014159:Transducers; D051598:Whole Body Imaging / Q000295:instrumentation*
keywords: MR phased array; body coils; flexible coils; parallel imaging; pediatric MRI