Chang-Ki Kang1, Myung-Kyun Woo2, Suk-Min Hong3, Young-Bo Kim2, Zang-Hee Cho4. 1. Neuroscience Research Institute, Gachon University, Incheon, Republic of Korea; Department of Radiological Science, College of Health Science, Gachon University, Incheon, Republic of Korea. 2. Neuroscience Research Institute, Gachon University, Incheon, Republic of Korea. 3. Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine - 4, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany. 4. Neuroscience Research Institute, Gachon University, Incheon, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: zhcho36@gmail.com.
Abstract
PURPOSE: To investigate intracranial microvascular images with transceiver radio-frequency (RF) coils at ultra-high field 7 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We designed several types of RF coils for the study of 7 T magnetic resonance angiography and analyzed quantitatively each coil's performance in terms of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) profiles to evaluate the usefulness of RF coils for microvascular imaging applications. We also obtained the microvascular images with different resolutions and parallel imaging technique. RESULTS: The overlapped 6-channel (ch) transceiver coil exhibited the highest performance for angiographic imaging. Although other multi-channel coils, such as 4- or 8-ch, were also suitable for fast imaging, these coils performed poorly in homogeneity or SNR for angiographic imaging. Furthermore, the 8-ch coil was poor in SNR at the center of the brain, while it had the highest SNR at the periphery. CONCLUSION: The present study has demonstrated that the overlapped 6-ch coil with large-size loop coils provided the best performance for microvascular imaging or angiography with the ultra-high-field 7 T MRI, mainly because of its long penetration depth together with high SNR.
PURPOSE: To investigate intracranial microvascular images with transceiver radio-frequency (RF) coils at ultra-high field 7 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We designed several types of RF coils for the study of 7 T magnetic resonance angiography and analyzed quantitatively each coil's performance in terms of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) profiles to evaluate the usefulness of RF coils for microvascular imaging applications. We also obtained the microvascular images with different resolutions and parallel imaging technique. RESULTS: The overlapped 6-channel (ch) transceiver coil exhibited the highest performance for angiographic imaging. Although other multi-channel coils, such as 4- or 8-ch, were also suitable for fast imaging, these coils performed poorly in homogeneity or SNR for angiographic imaging. Furthermore, the 8-ch coil was poor in SNR at the center of the brain, while it had the highest SNR at the periphery. CONCLUSION: The present study has demonstrated that the overlapped 6-ch coil with large-size loop coils provided the best performance for microvascular imaging or angiography with the ultra-high-field 7 T MRI, mainly because of its long penetration depth together with high SNR.