Practical aspects of birdcage coils.

Numerical modeling and experimental results are presented for a variety of birdcages for high-field MRI microscopy. The data include the first published numerical calculations and experimental measurements of magnetic filling factors of birdcages or other MRI coils. Fast, 3D calculations for shielded coils are demonstrated using the Biot-Savart law along with energy minimization. It is shown that the near-field, higher-order inhomogeneity effects remaining after a first-order, asymmetry correction may easily exceed 20% in situations where it is desirable to maximize filling factor. It is also found that an order-of-magnitude improvement in the accuracy of predicted capacitor values may be achieved by using a more detailed circuit model of the birdcage resonator.     

A birdcage resonator for intracavitary MR imaging

An intracavitary probe for magnetic resonance imaging of the pelvis has been developed that takes advantage of the “inside-out” spatial characteristics of a birdcage resonator. The probe consists of an eight-leg, birdcage resonator in a low-pass configuration operating in receive-only mode. The resonator circuit is mounted on a solid rod, is encased in Teflon^®, and has been used to obtain detailed images of pelvic anatomy in a male canine. The approximate cylindrical symmetry of the external sensitivity profile of this type of circuit, employed in an intracavitary application, demonstrates the potential superiority of this type of probe design over single-loop intracavitary coils. Axial, coronal, and sagittal MR images, obtained with 8 and 16 cm fields of view, are presented to illustrate the advantages of this type of intracavitary probe compared with conventional body-coil images. The prototype described in this report has been designed for clinical use in human subjects and is currently undergoing testing to determine its efficacy in the evaluation of rectal, prostate, and gynecologic pathology.     

Potential advantage of higher-order modes of birdcage coil for parallel imaging

The potential advantages of the higher-order resonant modes of a low-pass birdcage coil for parallel imaging are investigated using FDTD simulations in a spherical phantom. Better parallel imaging performance can be achieved in axial planes than in sagittal planes. If more modes are employed, the average g-factor (gmean) and maximum g-factor (gmax) will be improved for a specific acceleration factor (R). G-factor performance at 3 T (gmean=1.79, gmax=3.55) and 7 T (gmean=1.60, gmax=2.45) can be achieved even with an acceleration factor as high as four when all six order modes of 12-rung low-pass birdcage coil are incorporated for imaging on a mid-axial plane. For a specific number of channels, the optimum combination of corresponding modes can be obtained for different acceleration factors. Based on the g-factor and SNR performance, the total degenerate multi-mode birdcage coil with six order resonant modes has better homogeneous coverage and SENSE performance than the 8-element phased array coil, although requiring fewer channels. In addition, the dielectric effects at high field can improve the parallel imaging performance.     

Application of finite difference time domain method for the design of birdcage RF head coils using multi-port excitations

A three-dimensional finite difference time domain model was developed where the high pass birdcage coil and the imaged object are analysed as a single unit. A study was performed comparing linear, conventional quadrature, and four-port excitation at 64 MHz and 200 MHz for different coil loadings, namely muscle phantoms and an anatomically detailed human head model. A phase array concept was utilized to excite the birdcage coil in four ports. Two phase conditions were analyzed, the simple fixed phase and the variable phase. At 200 MHz, compared to the conventional quadrature drive, the four-port drive reduces the effects of the tissue-coil interactions leading to more uniform currents on the coil legs and consequently to a better B(1) field homogeneity. Also at 200 MHz, driving the coil in four ports provides an SAR distribution with peak values that are significantly less than those with linear or quadrature excitations.     

A double end-cap birdcage RF coil for small animal whole body imaging

Proper design of a birdcage coil plays a very important role in obtaining high-resolution small animal magnetic resonance imaging. The RF field homogeneity and the coil filling factor directly affect the signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) and therefore limit the resolution. It has been shown that a conductive end-cap placed on one side of the coil can improve the RF field inhomogeneity near this area. This also contributes to an increase in the S/N by reducing the length of the RF coil. While this is true near the end-cap, the distal half of the coil still suffers from poor homogeneity and S/N. Consequently, such a shortfall may hinder small animal whole body imaging. In order to improve the coil performance for a larger imaging volume, we designed a new small animal birdcage RF coil by adding a detachable second end-cap to the open end. The performance of single end and double end RF coils was compared experimentally. The results indicate that the double end-cap can provide superior uniformity along the long axis of the coil. Furthermore, if one wishes to obtain the same homogeneity within a given volume, a double end-cap would have less than half of the length of the single end-cap coil leading to a superior S/N performance.     

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.     

Advanced theory of driven birdcage resonator with losses for biomedical magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy

A complete time-dependent physics theory of symmetric unperturbed driven hybrid birdcage resonator was developed for general application. In particular, the theory can be applied for radiofrequency (RF) coil engineering, computer simulations of coil-sample interaction, etc. Explicit time dependence is evaluated for different forms of driving voltage. The major steps of the solution development are shown and appropriate explanations are given. Green's functions and spectral density formula were developed for any form of periodic driving voltage. The concept of distributed power losses based on transmission line theory is developed for evaluation of local losses of a coil. Three major types of power losses are estimated as equivalent series resistances in the circuit of the birdcage resonator. Values of generated resistances in legs and end-rings are estimated. An application of the theory is shown for many practical cases. Experimental curve of B₁ field polarization dependence is measured for eight-sections birdcage coil. It was shown that the steady-state driven resonance frequencies do not depend on damping factor unlike the free oscillation (transient) frequencies. An equivalent active resistance is generated due to interaction of RF electromagnetic field with a sample. Resistance of the conductor (enhanced by skin effect), Eddy currents and dielectric losses are the major types of losses which contribute to the values of generated resistances. A biomedical sample for magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy is the source of the both Eddy current and dielectric losses of a coil. As demonstrated by the theory, Eddy current loss is the major effect of coil shielding.     

Plate form three-dimensional gradient coils for L-band ESR imaging experiment

A set of plate form three-dimensional magnetic gradient coils was developed and used in electron spin resonance imaging (ESRI) experiment. The coils were processed with whole copper plates instead of wound with copper wires, which made its structure so compact that it was much thinner and smaller comparing to those traditionally used in ESRI. The coil set had a pie-like appearance of which the total thickness was only 14 mm and the outer diameter was 250 mm. The efficiency of the coils could be greater than 10 mT/m/A when distance between the two side-pieces was 63 mm. A maximum gradient strength of more than 200 mT/m could be obtained with driving current of about 20 A in each dimension coil. The spatial linearity was better than 5% in all three dimensions within the available spatial linearity area of larger than a sphere of 40 mm in diameter. The stability of the gradients strength could reach the level of 10(-5). An imaging resolution of better than 1 mm could be achieved with the coil set. Some preliminary practical imaging results show that the developed gradient coil set is suitable for L-band ESRI experiment of biological samples or even in vivo small animals.     

Optimization of a quadrature birdcage coil for functional imaging of squirrel monkey brain at 9.4T

A quadrature transmit/receive birdcage coil was optimized for squirrel monkey functional imaging at the high field of 9.4 T. The coil length was chosen to gain maximum coil efficiency/signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and meanwhile provide enough homogenous RF field in the whole brain area. Based on the numerical simulation results, a 16-rung high-pass birdcage coil with the optimal length of 9 cm was constructed and evaluated on phantom and in vivo experiments. Compared to a general-purpose non-optimized coil, it exhibits approximately 25% in vivo SNR improvement. In addition to the volume coil, details about how to design and construct the associated animal preparation system were provided.     

High-field magnetic resonance imaging using solenoid radiofrequency coils

High-resolution magnetic resonance imaging using dedicated high-field radiofrequency micro-coils at 16.4 T (700 MHz) was investigated. Specific solenoid coils primarily using silver and copper as conductors with enamel and polyurethane coatings were built to establish which coil configuration produces the best image. Image quality was quantified using signal-to-noise ratio and signal variation over regions of interest. Benchmarking was conducted using 5-mm diameter coils, as this size is comparable to an established coil of the same size. Our 1.4-mm-diameter coils were compared directly to each other, from which we deduce performance as a function of conductor material and coating. A variety of materials and conductor coatings allowed us to choose an optimal design, which we used to image a kidney section at 10-micron resolution. We applied zero-fill extrapolation to achieve 5-micron resolution.     

Three-dimensional high-inductance birdcage coil for NQR applications

A birdcage coil capable of operating simultaneously and independently in three orthogonal dimensions has been developed. A co-rotational end-ring mode producing an RF field in the longitudinal direction was utilized in addition to the two common transverse orthogonal modes. Two conductor turns were used for each of the coil's windows, increasing its inductance by a factor of four, thereby, making the coil suitable for low-frequency applications. Two or three-frequency detection can be easily carried out with this device. Orthogonality of the coil's channels allows arbitrarily close frequency positioning of each resonant mode, potentially useful in wide-line NQR studies, in which simultaneous excitation/detection of signals from three adjacent regions of a single wide line can be performed. The coil's performance was evaluated using a three-dimensional scheme, in which a circularly polarized experiment was combined with a linearly polarized measurement at another frequency, resulting in SNR improvement by 55%.     

Parallel magnetic resonance imaging using coils with localized sensitivities

The purpose of this study was to present clinical examples and illustrate the inefficiencies of a conventional reconstruction using a commercially available phased array coil with localized sensitivities. Five patients were imaged at 1.5 T using a cardiac-synchronized gadolinium-enhanced acquisition and a commercially available four-element phased array coil. Four unique sets of images were reconstructed from the acquired k-space data: (a) sum-of-squares image using four elements of the coil; localized sum-of-squares images from the (b) anterior coils and (c) posterior coils and a (c) local reconstruction. Images were analyzed for artifacts and usable field-of-view. Conventional image reconstruction produced images with fold-over artifacts in all cases spanning a portion of the image (mean 90 mm; range 36-126 mm). The local reconstruction removed fold-over artifacts and resulted in an effective increase in the field-of-view (mean 50%; range 20-70%). Commercially available phased array coils do not always have overlapping sensitivities. Fold-over artifacts can be removed using an alternate reconstruction method. When assessing the advantages of parallel imaging techniques, gains achieved using techniques such as SENSE and SMASH should be gauged against the acquisition time of the localized method rather than the conventional sum-of-squares method.