Simple RF design for human functional and morphological cardiac imaging at 7 tesla

Morphological and functional cardiac MRI can potentially benefit greatly from the recent advent of commercial high-field (7 tesla and above) MRI systems. However, conventional hardware configurations at lower field using a body-coil for homogeneous transmission are not available at these field strengths. Sophisticated multiple-transmit-channel systems have been shown to be able to image the human heart at 7 tesla but such systems are currently not widely available. In this paper, we empirically optimize the design of a simple quadrature coil for cardiac imaging at 7 tesla. The size, geometry, and position have been chosen to produce a B₁ field with no tissue-induced signal voids within the heart. Standard navigator echoes for gating were adapted for operation at the heart/lung interface, directly along the head–foot direction. Using this setup, conventional and high-resolution cine functional imaging have been successfully performed, as has morphological imaging of the right coronary artery.     

An optimized solenoidal head radiofrequency coil for low-field magnetic resonance imaging

Applications of low-field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems (<0.3 T) are limited due to the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) being lower than that provided by systems based on superconductive magnets (≥1.5 T). Therefore, the design of radiofrequency (RF) coils for low-field MRI requires careful consideration as significant gains in SNR can be achieved with the proper design of the RF coil. This article describes an analytical method for the optimization of solenoidal coils. Coil and sample losses are analyzed to provide maximum SNR and optimum B₁ field homogeneity. The calculations are performed for solenoidal coils optimized for the human head at 0.2 T, but the method could also be applied to any solenoidal coil for imaging other anatomical regions at low field. Several coils were constructed to compare experimental and theoretical results. A head magnetic resonance image obtained at 0.2 T with the optimum design is presented.     

Comparison of fast field-cycling magnetic resonance imaging methods and future perspectives

ABSTRACT

Fast field-cycling (FFC) nuclear magnetic resonance relaxometry is a well-established method to determine the relaxation rates as a function of magnetic field strength. This so-called nuclear magnetic relaxation dispersion gives insight into the underlying molecular dynamics of a wide range of complex systems and has gained interest especially in the characterisation of biological tissues and diseases. The combination of FFC techniques with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) offers a high potential for new types of image contrast more specific to pathological molecular dynamics. This article reviews the progress in FFC-MRI over the last decade and gives an overview of the hardware systems currently in operation. We discuss limitations and error correction strategies specific to FFC-MRI such as field stability and homogeneity, signal-to-noise ratio, eddy currents and acquisition time. We also report potential applications with impact in biology and medicine. Finally, we discuss the challenges and future applications in transferring the underlying molecular dynamics into novel types of image contrast by exploiting the dispersive properties of biological tissue or MRI contrast agents.     

Fast triple-spin-echo Dixon (FTSED) sequence for water and fat imaging

A number of ‘Dixon’ techniques based on fast spin echo (FSE) sequence have been proposed and successfully used in many branches of medicine. Some require only one scan, but most of them need multiple scans and long scan times. This article describes a new fast triple-spin-echo Dixon (FTSED) technique suitable for ultra-high field MRI, in which three specific time shifts are introduced in the echo train; thus, three images with defined water-fat phase-differences (0, π, 2π) are encoded in the phase of the acquired images without extreme restrictions upon the echo duration. The water and fat images are then calculated by iterative least-squares estimation method. The sequence was successfully implemented at a 9.4 T ultra-high field MRI system and tested on a phantom and a rat.     

Feasibility of MR fingerprinting using a high-performance 0.55 T MRI system

BackgroundMR fingerprinting (MRF) is a versatile method for rapid multi-parametric quantification. The application of MRF for lower MRI field could enable multi-contrast imaging and improve exam efficiency on these systems. The purpose of this work is to demonstrate the feasibility of 3D whole-brain T1 and T2 mapping using MR fingerprinting on a contemporary 0.55 T MRI system.Materials and methodsA 3D whole brain stack-of-spirals FISP MRF sequence was implemented for 0.55 T. Quantification was validated using the NIST/ISMRM Quantitative MRI phantom, and T1 and T2 values of white matter, gray matter, and cerebrospinal fluid were measured in 19 healthy subjects. To assess MRF performance in the lower SNR regime of 0.55 T, measurement precision was calculated from 100 simulated pseudo-replicas of in vivo data and within-session measurement repeatability was evaluated.ResultsT1 and T2 values calculated by MRF were strongly correlated to standard measurements in the ISMRM/NIST MRI system phantom (R² > 0.99), with a small constant bias of approximately 5 ms in T2 values. 3D stack-of-spirals MRF was successfully applied for whole brain quantitative T1 and T2 at 0.55 T, with spatial resolution of 1.2 mm × 1.2 mm × 5 mm, and acquisition time of 8.5 min. Moreover, the T1 and T2 quantifications had precision <5%, despite the lower SNR of 0.55 T.ConclusionA 3D whole-brain stack-of-spirals FISP MRF sequence is feasible for T1 and T2 mapping at 0.55 T.     

What Should I Notice? Using Algorithmic Information Theory to Evaluate the Memorability of Events in Smart Homes

With the increasing number of connected devices, complex systems such as smart homes record a multitude of events of various types, magnitude and characteristics. Current systems struggle to identify which events can be considered more memorable than others. In contrast, humans are able to quickly categorize some events as being more “memorable” than others. They do so without relying on knowledge of the system’s inner working or large previous datasets. Having this ability would allow the system to: (i) identify and summarize a situation to the user by presenting only memorable events; (ii) suggest the most memorable events as possible hypotheses in an abductive inference process. Our proposal is to use Algorithmic Information Theory to define a “memorability” score by retrieving events using predicative filters. We use smart-home examples to illustrate how our theoretical approach can be implemented in practice.     

Hyperfine Fields in Complex Metallic Systems: Co Clusters Embedded in Cu

We have used first-principles linear muffin tin orbital (LMTO-ASA) electronic structure calculations, implemented directly in real space (RS) to theoretically investigate the behavior of the hyperfine field of Co clusters embedded in fcc Cu. We find that the magnitude of the dominant contact contribution to the hyperfine field decreases significantly as one goes from the Co site at the center of the cluster to those at the Co–Cu interface. To better understand this behavior, we use a simple model which closely reproduces the first-principles calculations, but is physically more transparent. Our approach can partially deconvolute the several dependences, calling attention to the processes which regulate the hyperfine field behavior in these complex Co–Cu systems.     

Multi-components of T2 relaxation in ex vivo cartilage and tendon

The multi-components of T₂ relaxation in cartilage and tendon were investigated by microscopic MRI (μMRI) at 13 and 26 μm transverse resolutions. Two imaging protocols were used to quantify T₂ relaxation in the specimens, a 5-point sampling and a 60-point sampling. Both multi-exponential and non-negative-least-square (NNLS) fitting methods were used to analyze the μMRI signal. When the imaging voxel size was 6.76 × 10⁻⁴ mm³ and within the limit of practical signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in microscopic imaging experiments, we found that (1) canine tendon has multiple T₂ components; (2) bovine nasal cartilage has a single T₂ component; and (3) canine articular cartilage has a single T₂ component. The T₂ profiles from both 5-point and 60-point methods were found to be consistent in articular cartilage. In addition, the depletion of the glycosaminoglycan component in cartilage by the trypsin digestion method was found to result in a 9.81–20.52% increase in T₂ relaxation in articular cartilage, depending upon the angle at which the tissue specimen was oriented in the magnetic field.     

Non-resonant zeugmatography with muons (μSI) and radioactive isotopes

The procedure of zeugmatographic imaging — hitherto implemented only with nuclear magnetic resonance to form the well known MRI technique — is examined with the aim of utilizing it also in combination with non resonant phenomena. It is shown that in principle, one may indeed use zeugmatographic schemes with Perturbed Angular Correlations (PAC) or with muon spin rotations (SR) to obtain image information from material bodies. The preliminary experimentation with zeugmatographic Spin Imaging scheme, (SI), will be described. SomeSI imaging results will be presented and the inherent limitations of the method will be discussed.     

Quantum behavior of deterministic systems with information loss: Path integral approach

’t Hooft’s derivation of quantum from classical physics is analyzed by means of the classical path integral of Gozzi et al. It is shown how the key element of this procedure—the loss of information constraint—can be implemented by means of Faddeev–Jackiw’s treatment of constrained systems. It is argued that the emergent quantum systems are identical with systems obtained in Blasone et al. [Phys. Rev. A 71 (2005) 052507] through Dirac–Bergmann’s analysis. We illustrate our approach with two simple examples—free particle and linear harmonic oscillator. Potential Liouville anomalies are shown to be absent.     

Reducing ghosting due to k-space discontinuities in fast spin echo (FSE) imaging by a new combination of k-space ordering and parallel imaging

In multi-echo imaging sequences like fast spin echo (FSE), the point spread function (PSF) in the phase encoding direction contains significant secondary peaks (sidebands). This is due to discontinuities in adjacent k-space data obtained at different echo times caused by T₂ decay, and leads to ghosting and hence reduced image quality. Recently, utilising multiple coils for signal reception has become the standard configuration for MR systems due to the additional flexibility that parallel imaging (PI) methods can provide. PI methods generally obtain more data than is required to reconstruct an image. Here, this redundancy in information is exploited to reduce discontinuity-related ghosting in FSE imaging. Adjacent phase encoded k-space lines are acquired at different echo times alternately in the regions of discontinuity (called ‘feathering’). This moves the resulting ghost artefacts to the edges of the field of view. This property of the ghost then makes them amenable to removal using PI methods. With ‘feathered’ array coil data it is possible to reconstruct data over the region of the discontinuity from both echo times. By combining this data, a significant reduction in ghosting can be achieved. We show this approach to be effective through simulated and acquired MRI data.     

Multi-Source Coupling Based Analysis of the Acoustic Radiation Characteristics of the Wheel–Rail Region of High-Speed Railways

Based on elastic mechanics, the fluid–structure coupling theory and the finite element method, a high-speed railway wheel-rail rolling-aerodynamic noise model is established to realize the combined simulation and prediction of the vibrations, rolling noise and aerodynamic noise in wheel-rail systems. The field test data of the Beijing–Shenyang line are considered to verify the model reliability. In addition, the directivity of each sound source at different frequencies is analyzed. Based on this analysis, noise reduction measures are proposed. At a low frequency of 300 Hz, the wheel-rail area mainly contributes to the aerodynamic noise, and as the frequency increases, the wheel-rail rolling noise becomes dominant. When the frequency is less than 1000 Hz, the radiated noise fluctuates around the cylindrical surface, and the directivity of the sound is ambiguous. When the frequency is in the middle- and high-frequency bands, exceeding 1000 Hz, both the rolling and total noise exhibit a notable directivity in the directions of 20–30° and 70–90°, and thus, noise reduction measures can be implemented in these directions.     

准连续性动脉自旋标记技术在磁共振系统上的序列实现和参数优化

准连续性动脉自旋标记技术(pCASL)是一种新兴的动脉自旋标记脑灌注成像技术(ASL)：一方面,它克服了连续性动脉自旋标记技术(CASL)需要独立发射线圈的硬件限制;另一方面,也避免了脉冲式动脉自旋标记技术(PASL)带来的标记效率低的影响．为了在 1.5 T 磁共振系统上开发一款可稳定应用于临床扫描的 pCASL 序列;并使用该序列准确获得反
应灌注功能的局部脑血流量值(Regional Cerebral Blood Flow, rCBF)．该文利用水模测试pCASL 序列,验证了标记部分的标记性能并通过人体实验,优化了协议中标记位置中心到成像层面中心的距离和标记部分结束点到成像脉冲开始前的等待时间这两项参数．基于优化了参数的 pCASL 协议,扫描 12 组正常志愿者,观测灌注信号分布情况,并对特定灰质区域定量计算,对比不同个体该区域的 rCBF 值．通过人体实验,经验性地确定了延迟时间为 1 200 ms、标记距离为 70 mm 时灌注图像的信噪比达到最优．将两项优化后的参数存入协议中,并使用协议扫描,共获取 12 组结果,其中的 10 组都表明灌注信号稳定均匀,并且灰质区域的 CBF 值同经验结果一致．该工作在1.5 T 的磁共振系统上成功实现了 pCASL序列,经优化参数后的协议扫描,可以获得准确稳定的脑部灌注信号．
     

Short, shaped pulses in a large magnetic field gradient

A number of materials MR developments require that measurements be made in a large magnetic field gradient, including unilateral (single-sided) magnet designs for portability and open access. In such cases, all radiofrequency (RF) pulses are slice selective. Typically, little effort is made to tailor the shape of the selected slice, because shaped RF excitations are viewed as too lengthy in duration to be useful in materials MRI, where signal lifetimes are mostly less than 1 ms. We compare measured magnetization responses to various standard shaped pulses under extreme conditions of application (30 μs duration, offset frequencies up to 0.3 MHz, and in the presence of a 13 T/m permanent magnetic field gradient). We discuss the feasibility of their implementation for materials MRI in a large gradient, including the difficulty of choosing optimized pulse area, and propose viable solutions.     

Electrooptic sampling of freely propagating terahertz fields

The electrooptic measurement of freely-propagating, subpicosecond pulsed electromagnetic waves (terahertz fields) are presented. A LiTaO₃ crystal was used as a sensor head and achieved subpicosecond temporal resolution and 22 mVcm^–1Hz^–1/2 field sensitivity. The flat frequency response from the electrooptic crystals permitted the detection of radiation with ultrawide bandwidth and overcame previous limitations imposed by the resonant structure of photoconductive dipole antennas.     

低场MRI系统中线扫描扩散张量成像方法的研究

磁共振扩散张量成像(DTI)是在扩散加权成像(DWI)基础上发展起来的一种新型技术,可以无创伤显示脑白质纤维,诊断脑白质病变. 但是由于各种原因,DTI一般只在超导高场磁共振成像(MRI)仪器上进行,这就限制了这一重要诊断手段临床应用的广泛性. 本文在低场磁共振成像系统上应用线扫描实现了扩散张量成像,并测量了健康志愿者大脑内主要解剖结构的表观扩散系数(ADC)和各项异性分数(FA),得到的数据与高场仪器上的相关数据比较是吻合的. 因此临床上使用在低场强上得到的DTI图像评价脑白质是可行的,而且通常在临床上这也是足够的.     

H DNP at 1.4 T of Water Doped with a Triarylmethyl-Based Radical

Recently a triarylmethyl-based (TAM) radical has been developed for research in biological and other aqueous systems, and in low magnetic fields, 10 mT or less, large ¹H dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) enhancements have been reported. In this paper the DNP properties of this radical have been investigated in a considerably larger field of 1.4 T, corresponding to proton and electron Larmor frequencies of 60 MHz and 40 GHz, respectively. To avoid excessive microwave heating of the sample, an existing DNP NMR probe was modified with a screening coil, wound around the sample capillary and with its axis perpendicular to the electric component of the microwave field. It was found that with this probe the temperature increase in the sample after 4 s of microwave irradiation with an incident power of 10 W was only 16°C. For the investigations, 10 mM of the TAM radical was dissolved in deionized, but not degassed, water and put into a 1-mm i.d. and 6-mm long capillary tube. At 26°C the following results were obtained: (I) The relaxivity of the radical is 0.07 (mMs)⁻¹, in accordance with the value extrapolated from low-field results; (II) The leakage factor is 0.63, the saturation factor at maximum power is 0.85, and the coupling factor is −0.0187. It is shown that these results agree very well with an analysis where the electron–dipolar interactions are the dominant DNP mechanism, and where the relaxation transitions resulting from these interactions are governed by translational diffusion of the water molecules. Finally, the possibilities of combining DNP with magnetic resonance microscopy (MRM) are discussed. It is shown that at 26°C the overall DNP-enhanced proton polarization should become maximal in an external field of 0.3 T and become comparable to the thermal equilibrium polarization in a field of 30 T, considerably larger than the largest high-resolution magnet available to date. It is concluded that DNP MRM in this field, which corresponds to a standard microwave frequency of 9 GHz, has the potential to significantly increase the sensitivity in NMR and MRI experiments of small aqueous samples doped with the TAM radical.     

Simulating magnetic nanoparticle behavior in low-field MRI under transverse rotating fields and imposed fluid flow

In the presence of alternating-sinusoidal or rotating magnetic fields, magnetic nanoparticles will act to realign their magnetic moment with the applied magnetic field. The realignment is characterized by the nanoparticle's time constant, τ. As the magnetic field frequency is increased, the nanoparticle's magnetic moment lags the applied magnetic field at a constant angle for a given frequency, Ω, in rad s⁻¹. Associated with this misalignment is a power dissipation that increases the bulk magnetic fluid's temperature which has been utilized as a method of magnetic nanoparticle hyperthermia, particularly suited for cancer in low-perfusion tissue (e.g., breast) where temperature increases of between 4 and 7 °C above the ambient in vivo temperature cause tumor hyperthermia. This work examines the rise in the magnetic fluid's temperature in the MRI environment which is characterized by a large DC field, B₀. Theoretical analysis and simulation is used to predict the effect of both alternating-sinusoidal and rotating magnetic fields transverse to B₀. Results are presented for the expected temperature increase in small tumors ( radius) over an appropriate range of magnetic fluid concentrations (0.002-0.01 solid volume fraction) and nanoparticle radii (1-10 nm). The results indicate that significant heating can take place, even in low-field MRI systems where magnetic fluid saturation is not significant, with careful the goal of this work is to examine, by means of analysis and simulation, the concept of interactive fluid magnetization using the dynamic behavior of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticle suspensions in the MRI environment. In addition to the usual magnetic fields associated with MRI, a rotating magnetic field is applied transverse to the main B₀ field of the MRI. Additional or modified magnetic fields have been previously proposed for hyperthermia and targeted drug delivery within MRI. Analytical predictions and numerical simulations of the transverse rotating magnetic field in the presence of B₀ are investigated to demonstrate the effect of Ω, the rotating field frequency, and the magnetic field amplitude on the fluid suspension magnetization. The transverse magnetization due to the rotating transverse field shows strong dependence on the characteristic time constant of the fluid suspension, τ. The analysis shows that as the rotating field frequency increases so that Ωτ approaches unity, the transverse fluid magnetization vector is significantly non-aligned with the applied rotating field and the magnetization's magnitude is a strong function of the field frequency. In this frequency range, the fluid's transverse magnetization is controlled by the applied field which is determined by the operator. The phenomenon, which is due to the physical rotation of the magnetic nanoparticles in the suspension, is demonstrated analytically when the nanoparticles are present in high concentrations (1-3% solid volume fractions) more typical of hyperthermia rather than in clinical imaging applications, and in low MRI field strengths (such as open MRI systems), where the magnetic nanoparticles are not magnetically saturated. The effect of imposed Poiseuille flow in a planar channel geometry and changing nanoparticle concentration is examined. The work represents the first known attempt to analyze the dynamic behavior of magnetic nanoparticles in the MRI environment including the effects of the magnetic nanoparticle spin-velocity. It is shown that the magnitude of the transverse magnetization is a strong function of the rotating transverse field frequency. Interactive fluid magnetization effects are predicted due to non-uniform fluid magnetization in planar Poiseuille flow with high nanoparticle concentrations.     

Echo-Planar Imaging of Porous Media with Spatial Resolution below 100 μm

A modified version of the echo-planar imaging technique incorporating a Carr–Purcell train of 180° rf pulses (PEPI) has been implemented on a standard spectrometer. It is demonstrated that artifacts in the image due to cumulative errors in the rf field can be reduced by replacing each 180° pulse by a composite sequence of three rf pulses. Artifact-free 3D images at 94 μm voxel resolution are obtained within 15 min. This technique has been applied to study the drying process in an initially water-saturated model porous medium with characteristicT^*₂of order 700 μs.     

Effectiveness of the repulsion of electromagnetic coils with strength and magnetic field limitations

Mechanical power units utilizing electromagnetic interaction between coils are generally distinguished by compactness and ease of control. A coil-repulsion drive configuration is preferable for increasing the efficiency of such a device. One of the main limitations in choosing the parameters of stressed electromagnetic systems is mechanical strength. The application of superconducting coils has a number of additional limitations, for example, on the maximum magnetic field strength in the cross section of the coils. The problems of optimizing the dimensions of the electromagnetic system of a power unit consisting of two identical, coaxial, annular coils of rectangular cross section with opposing currents are investigated with allowance for strength and magnetic field limitations. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 67, 124–127 (May 1997)