A modular system of flexible receive-only coil arrays for 3 T Magnetic Resonance Imaging

• Published in: Zeitschrift für medizinische Physik Vol. 35; no. 2; pp. 193 - 203
• Main Authors: Nohava, Lena, Obermann, Michael, Frass-Kriegl, Roberta, Soanca, Onisim, Laistler, Elmar
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany Elsevier GmbH 01.05.2025; Elsevier
• Subjects: Ankle - diagnostic imaging; Coil; Equipment Design; Flexibility; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI); Magnetic Resonance Imaging - instrumentation; Modularity; Original Paper; Radio frequency (RF); Signal-To-Noise Ratio; Spine - diagnostic imaging; Versatility; GRAPPA; MRI; SAR; LR; px; Flexibility; Modularity; Coil; Radio frequency (RF); g-factor; 2D; BW; SNR; SPAIR; T1/T2-w; Versatility; TR/TE; TSE; fat sat; FOV; FLASH; ROI; AP; 3D; PD; PIN; RF; GRE; Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI); HF
• ISSN: 0939-3889; 1876-4436; 1876-4436
• DOI: 10.1016/j.zemedi.2023.05.002

Flexible form-fitting radiofrequency coils provide high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and in array configuration large anatomical areas of interest can be covered. We propose a modular system - “ModFlex”- of flexible lightweight 4-channel coaxial coil arrays for 3 T MRI. We investigated the performance difference between commercial reference coils and 8- and 16-channel ModFlex receive-only array systems. In vivo, six anatomical targets in four regions of interest – the neck, the ankle, the spine and the hip – were imaged with the novel coil array system. The versatility of ModFlex and the robustness of the coil characteristics for different use cases is demonstrated. We measured an SNR gain for 4 out of 6 and similar SNR for 2 out of 6 anatomical target regions as compared to commercial reference coils. Parallel imaging capabilities are comparable to standard coils in hip and neck imaging, but ModFlex outperforms standard coils in ankle and spine imaging. High SNR combined with high acceleration possibilities enables faster imaging workflows and/or high-resolution MR acquisitions. The coil’s versatility is beneficial for use cases with varying subject sizes and could improve patient comfort.