The coax monopole antenna: A flexible end-fed antenna for ultrahigh field transmit/receive arrays

PURPOSE

The coax monopole antenna is presented for body imaging at 7 T. The antenna is fed at one end, eliminating the possibility of cable-coil coupling and simplifying cable routing. Additionally, its flexibility improves loading to the subject.

METHODS

Like the coax dipole antenna, an interruption in the shield of the coaxial cable allows the current to extend to the outside of the shield, generating a B1 + field. Matching is achieved using a single inductor at the distal side, and a cable trap enforces the desired antenna length. Finite difference time domain simulations are employed to optimize the design parameters. Phantom measurements are conducted to determine the antenna's B1 + efficiency and to find the S-parameters in straight and bent positions. Eight-channel simulations and measurements are performed for prostate imaging.

RESULTS

The optimal configuration is a length of 360 mm with a gap position of 40 mm. Simulation data show higher B1 + levels for the coax monopole (20% in the prostate), albeit with a 5% lower specific absorbance rate efficiency, compared to the fractionated dipole antenna. The S11 of the coax monopole exhibits remarkable robustness to loading changes. In vivo prostate imaging demonstrates B1 + levels of 10-14 μT with an input power of 8 × 800 W, which is comparable to the fractionated dipole antenna. High-quality images and acceptable coupling levels were achieved.

CONCLUSION

The coax monopole is a novel, flexible antenna for body imaging at 7 T. Its simple design incorporates a single inductor at the distal side to achieve matching, and one-sided feeding greatly simplifies cable routing.

An 8-channel Tx/Rx dipole array combined with 16 Rx loops for high-resolution functional cardiac imaging at 7 T. MAGMA. 2018;31:7-18. [PMID: 29177772 PMCID: PMC5813068 DOI: 10.1007/s10334-017-0665-5]

Objective

To demonstrate imaging performance for cardiac MR imaging at 7 T using a coil array of 8 transmit/receive dipole antennas and 16 receive loops.

Materials and methods

An 8-channel dipole array was extended by adding 16 receive-only loops. Average power constraints were determined by electromagnetic simulations. Cine imaging was performed on eight healthy subjects. Geometrical factor (g-factor) maps were calculated to assess acceleration performance. Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR)-scaled images were reconstructed for different combinations of receive channels, to demonstrate the SNR benefits of combining loops and dipoles.

Results

The overall image quality of the cardiac functional images was rated a 2.6 on a 4-point scale by two experienced radiologists. Imaging results at different acceleration factors demonstrate that acceleration factors up to 6 could be obtained while keeping the average g-factor below 1.27. SNR maps demonstrate that combining loops and dipoles provides a more than 50% enhancement of the SNR in the heart, compared to a situation where only loops or dipoles are used.

Conclusion

This work demonstrates the performance of a combined loop/dipole array for cardiac imaging at 7 T. With this array, acceleration factors of 6 are possible without increasing the average g-factor in the heart beyond 1.27. Combining loops and dipoles in receive mode enhances the SNR compared to receiving with loops or dipoles only.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1007/s10334-017-0665-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Exploration of highly accelerated magnetic resonance elastography using high-density array coils

BACKGROUND

Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) measures tissue mechanical properties by applying a shear wave and capturing its propagation using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). By using high density array coils, MRE images are acquired using single echo acquisition (SEA) and at high resolutions with significantly reduced scan times.

METHODS

Sixty-four channel uniplanar and 32×32 channel biplanar receive arrays are used to acquire MRE wave image sets from agar samples containing regions of varying stiffness. A mechanical actuator triggered by a stepped delay time introduces vibrations into the sample while a motion sensitizing gradient encodes micrometer displacements into the phase. SEA imaging is used to acquire each temporal offset in a single echo, while multiple echoes from the same array are employed for highly accelerated imaging at high resolutions. Additionally, stiffness variations as a function of temperature are studied by using a localized heat source above the sample. A custom insertable gradient coil is employed for phase compensation of SEA imaging with the biplanar array to allow imaging of multiple slices.

RESULTS

SEA MRE images show a mechanical shear wave propagating into and across agar samples. A set of 720 images was obtained in 720 echoes, plus a single reference scan for both harmonic and transient MRE. A set of 2,950 wave image frames was acquired from pairs of SEA images captured during heating, showing the change in mechanical wavelength with the change in agar properties. A set of 240 frames was acquired from two slices simultaneously using the biplanar array, with phase images processed into displacement maps. Combining the narrow sensitivity patterns and SNR advantage of the SEA array coil geometry allowed acquisition of a data set with a resolution of 156 µm × 125 µm × 1,000 µm in only 64 echoes, demonstrating high resolution and high acceleration factors.

CONCLUSIONS

MRE using high-density arrays offers the unique ability to acquire a single frame of a propagating mechanical vibration with each echo, which may be helpful in non-repeatable or destructive testing. Highly accelerated, high resolution MRE may be enabled by the use of large arrays of coils such as used for SEA, but at lower acceleration rates supporting the higher resolution than provided by SEA imaging.

Experimental verification of SNR and parallel imaging improvements using composite arrays

Composite MRI arrays consist of triplets where two orthogonal upright loops are placed over the same imaging area as a standard surface coil. The optimal height of the upright coils is approximately half the width for the 7 cm coils used in this work. Resistive and magnetic coupling is shown to be negligible within each coil triplet. Experimental evaluation of imaging performance was carried out on a Philips 3 T Achieva scanner using an eight-coil composite array consisting of three surface coils and five upright loops, as well as an array of eight surface coils for comparison. The composite array offers lower overall coupling than the traditional array. The sensitivities of upright coils are complementary to those of the surface coils and therefore provide SNR gains in regions where surface coil sensitivity is low, and additional spatial information for improved parallel imaging performance. Near the surface of the phantom the eight-channel surface coil array provides higher overall SNR than the composite array, but this advantage disappears beyond a depth of approximately one coil diameter, where it is typically more challenging to improve SNR. Furthermore, parallel imaging performance is better with the composite array compared with the surface coil array, especially at high accelerations and in locations deep in the phantom. Composite arrays offer an attractive means of improving imaging performance and channel density without reducing the size, and therefore the loading regime, of surface coil elements. Additional advantages of composite arrays include minimal SNR loss using root-sum-of-squares combination compared with optimal, and the ability to switch from high to low channel density by merely selecting only the surface elements, unlike surface coil arrays, which require additional hardware.