AbstractThis article introduces a new concept for spin excitation and signal acquisition in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using rapid rotation of a single radiofrequency (RF) coil about a sample. A rotating RF coil system was constructed for 2 and 4.7 Tesla imaging. The acquired images of biological specimens were comparable to those of a conventional RF coil system. This approach may obviate the need for multiple channels and intricate RF decoupling of many coils, which impede the progress of multichannel array technology. It is hoped that hardware advantages of coil rotation and the additional parameter of rotational velocity will initiate advances in MRI through the development of new sequences and methods. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Concepts Magn Reson Part B (Magn Reson Engineering) 35B: 59–66, 2009