A Multichannel RF Transceiver Array with mixed L-C loop and microstrip elements for Foot/Ankle MR Imaging at 7T

TL;DR

This paper introduces a hybrid multichannel RF transceiver array combining L-C loops and microstrip elements, designed for improved foot and ankle MRI at 7T, addressing geometric and field inhomogeneity challenges.

Contribution

It presents a novel hybrid coil design with mixed L-C and microstrip elements specifically optimized for foot/ankle imaging at ultrahigh field strength.

Findings

Achieved relatively uniform B1 distribution in simulations.

Demonstrated feasibility of the hybrid design for 7T foot/ankle MRI.

Systematic numerical investigation of field behavior.

Abstract

It is technically challenging to design efficient transceiver coil arrays for foot and ankle imaging at ultrahigh fields due to the irregular geometry of the anatomy. Shortened wavelength because of the high operation frequency at ultrahigh fields increases phase variation, leading to inhomogeneous B1 distribution in the imaging sample. In this work, we propose a hybrid design with mixed L-C loops and microstrip resonators for multichannel foot/ankle transceiver arrays at the ultrahigh field of 7T. The proposed transceiver array consists of 14 microstrip resonators and 5 L-C loop coils to cover the entire region of interest of the irregular-shaped foot/ankle with a relatively uniform B1 distribution at 7T. The feasibility and field behavior of the proposed design are systematically investigated numerically.