Abstract
Arrays of radiofrequency coils are widely used in magnetic resonance imaging to achieve high signal-to-noise ratios and flexible volume coverage, to accelerate scans using parallel reception, and to mitigate field non-uniformity using parallel transmission. However, conventional coil arrays require complex decoupling technologies to reduce electromagnetic coupling between coil elements, which would otherwise amplify noise and limit transmitted power. Here we report a novel self-decoupled RF coil design with a simple structure that requires only an intentional redistribution of electrical impedances around the length of the coil loop. We show that self-decoupled coils achieve high inter-coil isolation between adjacent and non-adjacent elements of loop arrays and mixed arrays of loops and dipoles. Self-decoupled coils are also robust to coil separation, making them attractive for size-adjustable and flexible coil arrays.
Highlights
Arrays of radiofrequency coils are widely used in magnetic resonance imaging to achieve high signal-to-noise ratios and flexible volume coverage, to accelerate scans using parallel reception, and to mitigate field non-uniformity using parallel transmission
The radiofrequency (RF) coils used in an Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner to transmit RF energy into the body and receive signals from it play a critical role in determining image quality in terms of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and image uniformity, as well as other technical constraints on scanner performance
When assembled into an array, these loops electromagnetically couple to each other due to magnetic flux linkage, which is referred to as loop-mode coupling. Minimizing this coupling is a central challenge in building RF coil arrays with many coil elements
Summary
Arrays of radiofrequency coils are widely used in magnetic resonance imaging to achieve high signal-to-noise ratios and flexible volume coverage, to accelerate scans using parallel reception, and to mitigate field non-uniformity using parallel transmission. Other less common decoupling methods have been described including transformers[20], inter-connecting capacitive/ inductive networks[21,22,23,24,25,26], and passive resonators[27,28,29,30] These methods increase the complexity of dense coil arrays by adding circuitry or restricting array geometry, and most cannot simultaneously decouple adjacent and non-adjacent elements. They are incompatible with recently proposed RF arrays comprising mixtures of loops, dipoles, and monopoles, which have the potential to increase receive sensitivity and transmit performance by providing access to more diverse field modes[10,31,32,33]. The selfdecoupled design can improve the performance of size-adjustable and flexible coils used to match individual patients and improve patient comfort
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