Error-tolerant RF litz coils for NMR/MRI.

A new class of NMR RF volume coils is being developed that permits improved tuning range, B(1) homogeneity, tuning stability, and sensitivity compared to birdcages over a wide range of practical conditions, especially for microscopy and wraparound flexible applications. They are denoted litz coils, as their flux transparency and current distribution is obtained from woven foil patterns with insulated crossovers. Contrary to the design criteria of phased arrays, the parallel routes in litz coils use high coupling coefficients to achieve optimal current distribution, which is highly independent of tuning, balancing, and matching adjustments and is compatible with multiple capacitive segmentation. Magnetic filling factors, loaded Q, and inhomogeneity measurements and calculations are presented for a variety of litz coils with frequency-diameter products from 7 to 20 MHz-m and are compared to similar birdcages. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.