The Use of Strong Inductively Coupled Wireless Surface Coil and Transmit/Receive Volume Coil for 1H/19F MRI

Abstract

In this paper, we considered the use of a wireless coil designed from a routine surface coil in 1H/19F magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). When it was positioned within a transmit/receive volume coil, a strong inductive coupling was appeared. A high sensitivity and undistorted B1 field distribution formed from the location of the wireless coil were observed only in a co-rotating current mode (high-frequency mode). For this matching quality, MR images of phantoms and mouse brain were acquired. The use of inductively coupled coil system has allowed to obtain 1H/19F MR images with the greater SNR directly from the location of the wireless coil in more than 6–7 times in comparison with using only transmit/receive volume coil. Compared to use only transmit/receive surface coil, the 1H NMR signal acquired directly from the wireless coil location was more than three times higher. At the same time, the use of an active decoupling between transmit and receive coils gives better results than using a strong inductively coupled coil system, but a reduction of the SNR near the wireless coil location is less no more than 20%. The results present the possibilities of using the wireless coil in conventional 1H/19F MRI studies and can be useful for implantable coil applications.