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Home Technologies Integrated parallel reception, excitation, and shimming coil design for magnetic resonance imaging
Integrated parallel reception, excitation, and shimming coil design for magnetic resonance imaging

Integrated parallel reception, excitation, and shimming coil design for magnetic resonance imaging

Unmet Need

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a noninvasive diagnostic tool used by healthcare providers and researchers for a wide range of conditions. MRI is prone to static magnetic field (B0) inhomogeneities induced by the subject, which cannot be effectively corrected for with conventional spherical harmonic shim coils, leaving image artifacts that can severely degrade the image quality in many MRI applications. The integrated parallel reception, excitation, and shimming (iPRES) coil design, which enables imaging and localized B0 shimming with a single integrated radio-frequency (RF)/shim coil array, can provide a more effective B0 shimming than spherical harmonic shimming. However, it cannot fully correct for localized B0 inhomogeneities that are smaller than the RF coil elements, such as in body imaging. Therefore, there is a need for the development of more effective methods to correct for localized B0 inhomogeneities.

Technology

Researchers at Duke have developed a novel coil design for MRI scanners, termed integrated parallel reception, excitation, and shimming (iPRES), that allows both an RF current and a direct current to flow on each coil element simultaneously, thereby enabling imaging and localized B0 shimming with a single integrated RF/shim coil array. Such iPRES coil arrays can be placed close to the subject to maximize both the signal-to-noise ratio and shimming performance. In vivo experiments have shown that this technology is more effective than spherical harmonic shimming at correcting for localized B0 inhomogeneities and image artifacts in the human brain, abdomen, breast, and spinal cord.

Advantages

  • Enables a more effective B0 shimming than conventional spherical harmonic shimming
  • Can reduce image artifacts such as distortions and signal loss for better diagnosis of neurodegenerative and other diseases
  • Does not compromise the signal-to-noise ratio
  • Can reduce manufacturing costs, save space in the scanner bore, and improve patient comfort

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