Field Distribution and Coupling Investigation of an Eight-Channel RF Coil Consisting of Different Dipole Coil Elements for 7 T MRI

IEEE Trans Biomed Eng. 2017 Jun;64(6):1297-1304. doi: 10.1109/TBME.2016.2602441. Epub 2016 Aug 25.

Abstract

In this contribution, we investigate the [Formula: see text] distribution and coupling characteristics of a multichannel radio frequency (RF) coil consisting of different dipole coil elements for 7 T MRI, and explore the feasibility to achieve a compromise between field distribution and decoupling by combining different coil elements. Two types of dipole elements are considered here: the meander dipole element with a chip-capacitor-based connection to the RF shield which achieves a sufficient decoupling between the neighboring elements; and the open-ended meander dipole element which exhibits a broader magnetic field distribution. By nesting the open-ended dipole elements in between the ones with end-capacitors, the [Formula: see text] distribution, in terms of field penetration depth and homogeneity, is improved in comparison to the dipole coil consisting only of the elements with end-capacitors, and at the same time, the adjacent elements are less coupled to each other in comparison to the dipole coil consisting only of the open-ended elements. The proposed approach is validated by both full-wave simulation and experimental results.

Publication types

  • Evaluation Study

MeSH terms

  • Computer Simulation
  • Computer-Aided Design*
  • Electromagnetic Fields
  • Equipment Design
  • Equipment Failure Analysis
  • Image Enhancement / instrumentation*
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging / instrumentation*
  • Magnetics / instrumentation*
  • Models, Theoretical*
  • Phantoms, Imaging
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Scattering, Radiation
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Transducers*