Next-generation MRI scanner designed for ultra-high-resolution human brain imaging at 7 Tesla

David A Feinberg; Alexander J S Beckett; An T Vu; Jason Stockmann; Laurentius Huber; Samantha Ma; Sinyeob Ahn; Kawin Setsompop; Xiaozhi Cao; Suhyung Park; Chunlei Liu; Lawrence L Wald; Jonathan R Polimeni; Azma Mareyam; Bernhard Gruber; Rüdiger Stirnberg; Congyu Liao; Essa Yacoub; Mathias Davids; Paul Bell; Elmar Rummert; Michael Koehler; Andreas Potthast; Ignacio Gonzalez-Insua; Stefan Stocker; Shajan Gunamony; Peter Dietz

doi:10.1038/s41592-023-02068-7

Next-generation MRI scanner designed for ultra-high-resolution human brain imaging at 7 Tesla

Nat Methods. 2023 Dec;20(12):2048-2057. doi: 10.1038/s41592-023-02068-7. Epub 2023 Nov 27.

Authors

David A Feinberg^{1

2}, Alexander J S Beckett^{3

4}, An T Vu^{5

6}, Jason Stockmann^{7

8}, Laurentius Huber⁹, Samantha Ma¹⁰, Sinyeob Ahn¹⁰, Kawin Setsompop¹¹, Xiaozhi Cao¹¹, Suhyung Park^{3

12

13}, Chunlei Liu³, Lawrence L Wald^{7

8}, Jonathan R Polimeni^{7

8}, Azma Mareyam^{7

8}, Bernhard Gruber^{7

8

14}, Rüdiger Stirnberg¹⁵, Congyu Liao¹¹, Essa Yacoub¹⁶, Mathias Davids^{7

8

17}, Paul Bell¹⁰, Elmar Rummert¹⁸, Michael Koehler¹⁸, Andreas Potthast¹⁸, Ignacio Gonzalez-Insua¹⁸, Stefan Stocker¹⁸, Shajan Gunamony^{19

20}, Peter Dietz¹⁸

Affiliations

¹ Erwin Hahn 7T MRI Laboratory, Henry H. Wheeler Brain Imaging Center, Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA. David.feinberg@berkeley.edu.
² Advanced MRI Technologies, Sebastopol, CA, USA. David.feinberg@berkeley.edu.
³ Erwin Hahn 7T MRI Laboratory, Henry H. Wheeler Brain Imaging Center, Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
⁴ Advanced MRI Technologies, Sebastopol, CA, USA.
⁵ Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
⁶ San Francisco Veteran Affairs Health Care System, San Francisco, CA, USA.
⁷ A. A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA.
⁸ Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology, MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA.
⁹ Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
¹⁰ Siemens Medical Solutions, Malvern, PA, USA.
¹¹ Radiological Sciences Laboratory, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
¹² Department of Computer Engineering, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, Republic of Korea.
¹³ Department of ICT Convergence System Engineering, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, Republic of Korea.
¹⁴ BARNLabs, Muenzkirchen, Austria.
¹⁵ German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Bonn, Germany.
¹⁶ Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
¹⁷ Computer Assisted Clinical Medicine, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany.
¹⁸ Siemens Healthcare GmbH, Erlangen, Germany.
¹⁹ Imaging Centre of Excellence, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.
²⁰ MR CoilTech Limited, Glasgow, UK.

Abstract

To increase granularity in human neuroimaging science, we designed and built a next-generation 7 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging scanner to reach ultra-high resolution by implementing several advances in hardware. To improve spatial encoding and increase the image signal-to-noise ratio, we developed a head-only asymmetric gradient coil (200 mT m^-1, 900 T m^-1s^-1) with an additional third layer of windings. We integrated a 128-channel receiver system with 64- and 96-channel receiver coil arrays to boost signal in the cerebral cortex while reducing g-factor noise to enable higher accelerations. A 16-channel transmit system reduced power deposition and improved image uniformity. The scanner routinely performs functional imaging studies at 0.35-0.45 mm isotropic spatial resolution to reveal cortical layer functional activity, achieves high angular resolution in diffusion imaging and reduces acquisition time for both functional and structural imaging.

MeSH terms

Brain* / diagnostic imaging
Brain* / pathology
Head
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging* / methods
Neuroimaging
Signal-To-Noise Ratio

Abstract

MeSH terms

Grants and funding