Travelling wave magnetic resonance imaging at 3 T

Abstract

Waveguides have been successfully used to generate magnetic resonance images at 7 T with whole-body systems. The bore diameter limits the magnetic resonance signal transmitted because its specific cut-off frequency is greater than the majority of resonant frequencies in magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy. This restriction can be overcome by using a parallel-plate waveguide whose cut-off frequency is zero for the transverse electromagnetic modes and it can propagate any frequency. To study the potential benefits of travelling-wave excitation for whole-body imaging at 3 T, we compare numerical simulations of the principal mode propagation for a parallel-plate waveguide filled with a cylindrical phantom and two surface coils for all simulations at 1.5 T, 3 T, 4.7, 7 T, and 9.4 T. The principal mode shows very little variation of the field magnitude along the propagation direction at 3 T when compared to other higher resonant frequencies. Unlike the standard method for travelling-wave magnetic resonance imaging, a parallel-plate waveguide prototype was built and used together with a whole-body birdcage coil for signal transmission and a pair of circular coils for reception. Experimental B1 mapping was computed to investigate the feasibility of this approach and, the point spread function method was used to measure the imager performance. Human leg images were acquired to experimentally validate this approach. The numerical magnetic field and specific absorption rate of a simulated leg were computed and results are within the safety limits. The B1 mapping and point spread function results showed that it is possible to conduct travelling-wave imaging experiments with good imager performance. Human leg images were also obtained with the whole-body birdcage coil for comparison purposes. The simulated and in vivo travelling-wave results of the human leg correspond very well for the signal received. A similar image signal-to-noise ratio was observed for the travelling-wave approach and the conventional one. We have demonstrated the feasibility of travelling-wave magnetic resonance imaging at 3 T and whole-body magnetic resonance systems, using a parallel-plate waveguide with standard pulse sequences and only one coil array. This extends the use of the waveguide approach to a wider range of resonant frequencies.