A practical multinuclear transceiver volume coil for in vivo MRI/MRS at 7 T

A practical multinuclear transceiver RF volume coil with improved efficiency for in vivo small animal ¹H/¹³C/²³Na MR applications at the ultrahigh magnetic field of 7 T is reported. In the proposed design, the coil's resonance frequencies for ¹H and ¹³C are realized by using a traditional double-tuned approach, while the resonant frequency for ²³Na, which is only some 4 MHz away from the ¹³C frequency, is tuned based upon ¹³C channel by easy-operating capacitive “frequency switches”. In contrast to the traditional triple-tuned volume coil, the volume coil with the proposed design possesses less number of resonances, which helps improve the coil efficiency and alleviate the design and operation difficulties. This coil design strategy is advantageous and well suitable for multinuclear MR imaging and spectroscopy studies, particularly in the case where Larmor frequencies of nuclei in question are not separate enough. The prototype multinuclear coil was demonstrated in the desired unshielded design for easy construction and experiment implementation at 7 T. The design method may provide a practical and robust solution to designing multinuclear RF volume coils for in vivo MR imaging and spectroscopy at ultrahigh fields. Finite difference time domain method simulations for evaluating the design and 7-T MR experiment results acquired using the prototype coil are presented.     

Multiple Parallel Round Leg Design for Quadrature Birdcage Coil in Ultrahigh-Field MRI

Copper foil has been widely employed in conventional radio frequency (RF) birdcage coils for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). However, for ultrahigh-field (UHF) MRI, current density distribution on the copper foil is concentrated on the surface and the edge due to proximity effect. This increases the effective resistance and distorts the circumferential sinusoidal current distribution on the birdcage coils, resulting in low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and inhomogeneous distribution of RF magnetic (B₁) field. In this context, multiple parallel round wires were proposed as legs of a birdcage coil to optimize current density distribution and to improve the SNR and the B₁ field homogeneity. The design was compared with three conventional birdcage coils with different width flat strip surface legs for a 9.4 T (T) MRI system, e.g., narrow-leg birdcage coil (NL), medium-leg birdcage coil (ML), broad-leg birdcage coil (BL) and the multiple parallel round wire-leg birdcage coil (WL). Studies were carried out in in vitro saline phantom as well as in vivo mouse brain. WL showed higher coil quality factor Q and more homogeneous B₁ field distribution compared to the other three conventional birdcage coils. Furthermore, WL showed 12, 10 and 13% SNR increase, respectively, compared to NL, ML and BL. It was proposed that conductor’s shape optimization could be an effective approach to improve RF coil performance for UHF MRI.     

Hybrid Monopole/Loop Coil Array for Human Head MR Imaging at 7 T

The monopole coil and loop coil have orthogonal radiofrequency (RF) fields and thus are intrinsically decoupled electromagnetically if they are laid out appropriately. In this study, we proposed a hybrid monopole/loop technique which could combine the advantages of both loop arrays and monopole arrays. To investigate this technique, a hybrid RF coil array containing four monopole channels and four loop channels was developed for human head magnetic resonance (MR) imaging at 7 T. In vivo MR imaging and g-factor results using monopole-only channels, loop-only channels and all channels of the hybrid array were acquired and evaluated. Compared with the monopole-only and loop-only channels, the proposed hybrid array has the higher signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and better parallel imaging performance. Sufficient electromagnetic decoupling and diverse RF magnetic field (B₁) distributions of monopole channels and loop channels may contribute to this performance improvement. From experimental results, the hybrid monopole/loop array has low g-factor and excellent SNR at both periphery and center of the brain, which is valuable for human head imaging at ultrahigh fields.     

Towards a complete coil array

A complete RF coil system, as has been previously defined, is capable of generating any steady-state RF field, at the MR frequency, that is compatible with Maxwell's equations. A coil system is complete if it is capable of generating all basis vector fields in the multipole expansion of the electromagnetic fields. A complete coil system has the potential to reach the ultimate intrinsic signal-to-noise as an MRI receiver coil. It also offers maximum flexibility in tailoring the spatial RF field distribution as an excitation coil. Here, computer simulations have been performed on array coils employing composite coil elements, assuming the current loops are small and can be approximated by magnetic dipoles. We demonstrate that a coil array can be configured to approximate a truncated complete array coil and to generate the basis magnetic vector fields up to certain orders in the multipole expansion of the electromagnetic fields.     

Designing shielded radio-frequency phased-array coils for magnetic resonance imaging

In this paper, an approach to the design of shielded radio-frequency (RF) phased-array coils for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is proposed. The target field method is used to find current densities distributed on primary and shield coils. The stream function technique is used to discretize current densities and to obtain the winding patterns of the coils. The corresponding highly ill-conditioned integral equation is solved by the Tikhonov regularization with a penalty function related to the minimum curvature. To balance the simplicity and smoothness with the homogeneity of the magnetic field of the coil’s winding pattern, the selection of a penalty factor is discussed in detail.     

A novel radio frequency coil for veterinary magnetic resonance imaging system

In this article,a novel designed radio frequency (RF) coil is designed and built for the imaging of puppies in a V-shape permanent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system.Two sets of Helmholtz coil pairs with a V-shape structure are used to improve the holding of an animal in the coil.The homogeneity and the sensitivity of the RF field in the coil are analysed by theoretical calculation.The size and the shape of the new coil are optimized and validated by simulation through using the finite element method (FEM).Good magnetic resonance (MR) images are achieved on a shepherd dog.     

A volume microstrip RF coil for MRI microscopy

Quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies of small samples such as a single cell or cell clusters require application of radiofrequency (RF) coils that provide homogenous B₁ field distribution and high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).We present a novel design of an MRI RF volume microcoil based on a microstrip structure. The coil consists of two parallel microstrip elements conducting RF currents in the opposite directions, thus creating homogenous RF field within the space between the microstrips. The construction of the microcoil is simple, efficient and cost-effective.Theoretical calculations and finite element method simulations were used to optimize the coil geometry to achieve optimal B₁ and SNR distributions within the sample and predict parameters of the coil. The theoretical calculations were confirmed with MR images of a 1-mm-diameter capillary and a plant obtained with the double microstrip RF microcoil at 11.7 T. The in-plane resolution of MR images was 24 μm×24 μm.     

Design and Analysis of Microstrip-Based RF Birdcage Coil for 1.5 T Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique is widely used to capture the images of the liquid items inside the human body. The radio-frequency (RF) coil is one of the important modules present inside an MRI system, which plays a major role in image quality. In this work, a microstrip-based high-pass RF birdcage coil is proposed for 1.5 T MRI. The cylindrical-shaped birdcage coil consists of 12 microstrip radiating elements and tuning capacitors to achieve a resonance at 63.85 MHz. The coil is made up of 10 mm polytetrafluoroethylene substrate coated by a conducting transmission line of desired length and width. A finite difference time domain simulation is carried out to analyze the return loss (S₁₁), magnetic field homogeneity and Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) parameters of the RF coil. The SAR values of the proposed microstrip-based 1.5 T birdcage coil was compared with 3 T RF birdcage coil. The simulation results indicate the proposed birdcage coil structure gives optimal values of S₁₁, magnetic field homogeneity and SAR.     

An Efficacious Target-Field Approach to Design Shim Coils for Halbach Magnet of Mobile NMR Sensors

The main magnetic fields of mobile nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) magnets differ from those of conventional NMR and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) magnets. In the Halbach magnet, the main field B ₀ is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, the symmetry of the current distribution with respect to the symmetry of the magnetic field differs from that in conventional target-field applications, and the current distribution on the coil surface cannot be expressed in terms of periodic basis functions. To obtain the winding pattern of the coil, an efficacious target-field approach. The surface of a coil is divided into small discrete elements, where each element is represented by a magnetic dipole. From the stream function of the elements, the resultant magnetic field is calculated. The optimization strategy follows an objective function defined by the power dissipation or efficiency of the coil. This leads to the optimum stream function on the coil surface, whose contour lines define the winding patterns of the coil. This paper shows winding patterns designed of shim coils for Halbach magnet and illustrates the craft of a shim coil using flexible printed circuit board. The performance of the coils is verified by simulating the fields they produce over the sensitive volume.     

Multichannel transceiver dual-tuned RF coil for proton/sodium MR imaging of knee cartilage at 3 T

Sodium magnetic resonance (MR) imaging is a promising technique for detecting changes of proteoglycan (PG) content in cartilage associated with knee osteoarthritis. Despite its potential clinical benefit, sodium MR imaging in vivo is challenging because of intrinsically low sodium concentration and low MR signal sensitivity. Some of the challenges in sodium MR imaging may be eliminated by the use of a high-sensitivity radiofrequency (RF) coil, specifically, a dual-tuned (DT) proton/sodium RF coil which facilitates the co-registration of sodium and proton MR images and the evaluation of both physiochemical and structural properties of knee cartilage. Nevertheless, implementation of a DT proton/sodium RF coil is technically difficult because of the coupling effect between the coil elements (particularly at high field) and the required compact design with improved coil sensitivity. In this study, we applied a multitransceiver RF coil design to develop a DT proton/sodium coil for knee cartilage imaging at 3 T. With the new design, the size of the coil was minimized, and a high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) was achieved. DT coil exhibited high levels of reflection S11 (～-21 dB) and transmission coefficient S12 (～-19 dB) for both the proton and sodium coils. High SNR (range 27-38) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) (range 15-21) were achieved in sodium MR imaging of knee cartilage in vivo at 3-mm(3) isotropic resolution. This DT coil performance was comparable to that measured using a sodium-only birdcage coil (SNR of 28 and CNR of 20). Clinical evaluation of the DT coil on four normal subjects demonstrated a consistent acquisition of high-resolution proton images and measurement of relative sodium concentrations of knee cartilages without repositioning of the subjects during the same MR scanning session.     

核磁共振高信噪比弱信号检测的理论与实验研究

基于小型射频线圈的核磁共振检测探头在波谱分析和成像研究中具有广泛的应用,如化学位移波谱分析、磁共振成像和勘探测井等技术领域。但是,由于外加静磁场作用下,自旋体系发生塞曼能级分裂后,高低能态之间的核自旋数量之差很小,普遍存在检测信噪比很低的问题,而且初级磁共振接收信号的质量受所用探头线圈电气参数的影响较大。研究结果表明,在特定的被测样品和接收线圈占空比以及静磁场等条件不变的情况下,检测信噪比与单位电流产生的射频磁场成正比,而与线圈高频电阻的平方根成反比。在永磁0.39Tesla主磁场条件下,研究了趋肤效应影响下小型螺线管线圈几何参数的优化设计方法。理论仿真和实际的测量结果表明,几何参数为线径0.5 mm、直径5.5 mm的10匝微螺线管线圈,在16.9 MHz谐振频率上,相对信噪比取得一个极大值点,对应的Q值约为199.8,与阻抗分析仪测得结果有较好的吻合,验证了该核磁共振检测线圈设计新方法是合理的。本文提出的基于线圈电磁特性的高信噪比检测探头设计方法,可推广到目前的质子密度成像、岩心弛豫谱分析等应用中。     

跑道型Bi系高温超导双饼线圈I～E特性计算与实验研究

本文使用Ansys有限元分析软件,建立三维跑道线圈模型,考虑超导线截面电流密度的非均匀分布特性,计算Bi系高温超导双饼线圈中各区域磁场分布、临界电流分布、电流密度分布和电场分布,从而计算线圈的I～E关系曲线,为超导线圈提供一个更为准确的检验标准,对照线圈的测试结果,用此程序计算的线圈I～E关系曲线与测试曲线吻合的较好.     

Calculation of magnetic field for 4 T fast cycling superconducting dipole magnet

The problem of optimization of the two-dimensional magnetic field distribution of a dipole magnet with a field of 4 T and aperture diameter of 100–110 mm for a fast cycling synchrotron is considered. A singlelayer winding with a small number of turns is made from a hollow NbTi superconducting cable with an operating current up to 30 kA. The mathematical method providing optimization of the higher harmonics amplitude of the magnetic field by varying the position of current windings is described. The results of calculation of two-dimensional magnetic fields of the superconducting magnet are given.     

Radiofrequency magnetic field gradient echoes have reduced sensitivity to susceptibility gradients

The amplitudes of gradient-echoes produced using static field gradients are sensitive to diffusion of tissue water during the echo evolution time. Gradient-echoes have been used to produce MR images in which image intensity is proportional to the self-diffusion coefficient of water. However, such measurements are subject to error due to the presence of background magnetic field gradients caused by variations in local magnetic susceptibility. These local gradients add to the applied gradients. The use of radiofrequency (RF) gradients to produce gradient-echoes may avoid this problem. The RF magnetic field is orthogonal to the offset field produced by local magnetic susceptibility gradients. Thus, the effect of the local gradients on RF gradient-echo amplitude is small if the RF field is strong enough to minimize resonance offset effects. The effects of susceptibility gradients can be further reduced by storing magnetization longitudinally during the echo evolution period. A water phantom was used to evaluate the effects of background gradients on the amplitudes of RF gradient-echoes. A surface coil was used to produce an RF gradient of between 1.3 and 1.6 gauss/cm. Gradient-echoes were detected with and without a 0.16 gauss/cm static magnetic field gradient applied along the same direction as the RF gradient. The background static field gradient had no significant effect on the decay of RF gradient-echo amplitude as a function of echo evolution time. In contrast, the effect of the background gradient on echoes produced using a 1.6 gauss/cm static field gradient is calculated to be significant. This analysis suggests that RF gradient-echoes can produce MR images in which signal intensity is a function of the self-diffusion coefficient of water, but is not significantly affected by background gradients.     

Effect of radiofrequency inhomogeneity on water-content based electrical properties tomography and its correction by flip angle maps

Water-content based electrical properties tomography (wEPT) can retrieve electrical properties (EPs) from water-content maps. B₁⁺ field information is not involved in the traditional magnetic resonance electrical properties tomography approach. wEPT can be performed through conventional MR scanning, such as T₁-weighted spin-echo imaging, which provides convenient access to multiple clinical applications. However, the inhomogeneous radiofrequency (RF) field induced by RF coils would cause inaccuracy in wEPT reconstructions during MR scanning. We conducted a detailed investigation to evaluate the effect of inhomogeneous RF field on wEPT reconstructions to guarantee that EP mapping is desired for clinical practice. Two important considerations are involved, namely, multiple typical coil configurations and various flip angles (FAs). We proposed a correction scheme with actual FA mapping to calibrate the RF inhomogeneity and finally validated it by using human imaging at 3 T. This study illustrates a detailed evaluation for wEPT under imperfect RF homogeneity and further provides a feasible correction procedure to mitigate it. The profound knowledge of wEPT provided in our work will benefit its performance in clinical applications.     

Induced current of high temperature superconducting loops by combination of exciting coil and thermal switch

With its commercialization, the second-generation (2G) high temperature superconducting (HTS) RE—Ba—Cu—O (REBCO, RE is rare earth) tape is extensively applied to the superconducting magnets in the high magnetic fields. However, unlike low temperature superconducting (LTS) magnets, the HTS magnet cannot operate in the persistent current mode (PCM) due to the immature superconducting soldering technique. In this paper, an exciting method for two HTS sub-loops, so-called charging and load loops, is proposed by flux pump consisting of exciting coil and controllable thermal switch. Two HTS sub-loops are made of an REBCO tape with two slits. An exciting coil with iron core is located in one sub-loop and is supplied with a triangular waveform current so that magnetic field is generated in another sub-loop. The influence of magnetic flux on induced current in load loop is presented and verified in experiment at 77 K. The relationship between the induced magnetic flux density and the current on the sub-loops having been calibrated, magnetic flux density, and induced current are obtained. The results show that the HTS sub-loops can be excited by a coil with thermal switch and the induced current increases with magnetic flux of exciting coil increasing, which is promising for persistent current operation mode of HTS magnets.     

A microstrip transmission line volume coil for human head MR imaging at 4T

A high-frequency RF volume coil based on the use of microstrip transmission line (MTL) has been developed for in vivo 1H MR applications on the human head at 4T. This coil is characterized by major advantages: (i) completely distributed coil circuit, (ii) high-quality factor (Q), (iii) simple coil structure, and (iv) better sensitivity and less signal-intensity variation in the MR image of the human head compared with an RF shielded birdcage coil of similar coil size. The proposed MTL volume coil does not require additional RF shielding for preventing Q degradation from radiation losses due to the unique MTL structure; thus, it provides a maximal useable space inside the volume coil when compared with most volume coils available at high fields with the same overall coil size. The intrinsic B(1) distribution of the MTL volume coil effectively compensates for the dielectric resonance effect at 4T and improves the signal homogeneity in human head MR images in the transaxial planes. The results of this study demonstrate that the MTL volume coil design provides an efficient and simple solution to RF volume coil design for human MR studies at high fields.     

Microwave field distribution in a magic angle spinning dynamic nuclear polarization NMR probe

We present a calculation of the microwave field distribution in a magic angle spinning (MAS) probe utilized in dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) experiments. The microwave magnetic field (B(1S)) profile was obtained from simulations performed with the High Frequency Structure Simulator (HFSS) software suite, using a model that includes the launching antenna, the outer Kel-F stator housing coated with Ag, the RF coil, and the 4mm diameter sapphire rotor containing the sample. The predicted average B(1S) field is 13μT/W(1/2), where S denotes the electron spin. For a routinely achievable input power of 5W the corresponding value is γ(S)B(1S)=0.84MHz. The calculations provide insights into the coupling of the microwave power to the sample, including reflections from the RF coil and diffraction of the power transmitted through the coil. The variation of enhancement with rotor wall thickness was also successfully simulated. A second, simplified calculation was performed using a single pass model based on Gaussian beam propagation and Fresnel diffraction. This model provided additional physical insight and was in good agreement with the full HFSS simulation. These calculations indicate approaches to increasing the coupling of the microwave power to the sample, including the use of a converging lens and fine adjustment of the spacing of the windings of the RF coil. The present results should prove useful in optimizing the coupling of microwave power to the sample in future DNP experiments. Finally, the results of the simulation were used to predict the cross effect DNP enhancement (?) vs. ω(1S)/(2π) for a sample of (13)C-urea dissolved in a 60:40 glycerol/water mixture containing the polarizing agent TOTAPOL; very good agreement was obtained between theory and experiment.     

高通鸟笼线圈激发螺旋波等离子体特性研究

研制了高通鸟笼线圈,使用氩气作为工质气体对射频天线的工作性能进行了初步评估。利用COMSOL5.4模拟出了鸟笼天线在13.56MHz的工作频率下,电场和磁场呈线性极化分布。对鸟笼线圈进行了电路结构解剖,推导出了其谐振频率计算公式。利用热耦合红外测温仪测试了正常工作状态下的鸟笼线圈外表温度明显低于传统射频天线,电容器最高温度仅65.8°。使用光谱仪对螺旋波等离子体放电光谱特性进行诊断。通过朗缪尔探针诊断了不同压强和磁场强度下螺旋波等离子体密度,在1.0Pa、600Gs、射频功率700W条件下等离子体密度达到1.62×10¹⁸m^-3。诊断了正向功率和反向功率对应的等离子体密度,其与磁滞现象变化趋势雷同。测试了螺旋波等离子体的径向密度分布,其在轴心处密度达到最高。探究了无磁场条件下等离子体特性,其密度值不会发生大幅度跃迁,纵向磁场是引发螺旋波等离子体放电的关键因素,低压条件下有利于得到更低的电子温度,最低达到2.67eV。表明鸟笼线圈低热耗、高馈入的特性使其在激发大体积的高密度螺旋波等离子体方面具有明显优势,可以投入到下一阶段氢气螺旋波等离子体的激...     

Design of small-scale gradient coils in magnetic resonance imaging by using the topology optimization method

A topology optimization method based on the solid isotropic material with penalization interpolation scheme is utilized for designing gradient coils for use in magnetic resonance microscopy. Unlike the popular stream function method, the proposed method has design variables that are the distribution of conductive material. A voltage-driven transverse gradient coil is proposed to be used as micro-scale magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) gradient coils, thus avoiding introducing a coil-winding pattern and simplifying the coil configuration. The proposed method avoids post-processing errors that occur when the continuous current density is approximated by discrete wires in the stream function approach. The feasibility and accuracy of the method are verified through designing the z-gradient and y-gradient coils on a cylindrical surface.Numerical design results show that the proposed method can provide a new coil layout in a compact design space.