Abstract
Recently cleared by the FDA, 7 Tesla (7 T) MRI is a rapidly growing technology that can provide higher resolution and enhanced contrast in human MRI images. However, the increased operational frequency (~ 297 MHz) hinders its full potential since it causes inhomogeneities in the images and increases the power deposition in the tissues. This work describes the optimization of an innovative radiofrequency (RF) head coil coupled design, named Tic Tac Toe, currently used in large scale human MRI scanning at 7 T; to date, this device was used in more than 1,300 neuro 7 T MRI scans. Electromagnetic simulations of the coil were performed using the finite-difference time-domain method. Numerical optimizations were used to combine the calculated electromagnetic fields produced by these antennas, based on the superposition principle, resulting in homogeneous magnetic field distributions at low levels of power deposition in the tissues. The simulations were validated in-vivo using the Tic Tac Toe RF head coil system on a 7 T MRI scanner.
Highlights
Cleared by the FDA, 7 Tesla (7 T) Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a rapidly growing technology that can provide higher resolution and enhanced contrast in human MRI images
Advancing from standard clinical scanners—with B 0 of 1.5 Tesla (T) or 3 T—to the recent FDA cleared 7 T provides a major advantage of increased signal-to-noise ratio (SNR)[1]
Other advantages of 7 T field strength are the higher sensitivity to blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) signal, better venous vasculature conspicuity, enhanced angiography, and improved spectroscopy a cquisitions[1]
Summary
Cleared by the FDA, 7 Tesla (7 T) MRI is a rapidly growing technology that can provide higher resolution and enhanced contrast in human MRI images. Constrained numerical optimizations of the 16-channel TTT transmit coil were performed based on finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) electromagnetic field simulations while considering the RF power losses in the hardware.
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