TY - JOUR A1 - Umutlu, Lale A1 - Orzada, Stephan A1 - Kinner, Sonja A1 - Maderwald, Stefan A1 - Bronte, Irina A1 - Bitz, Andreas A1 - Kraff, Oliver A1 - Ladd, Susanne C. A1 - Antoch, Gerald A1 - Ladd, Mark E. A1 - Quick, Harald H. A1 - Lauenstein, Thomas C. T1 - Renal imaging at 7 Tesla: preliminary results JF - European Radiology N2 - Objective To investigate the feasibility of 7T MR imaging of the kidneys utilising a custom-built 8-channel transmit/receive radiofrequency body coil. Methods In vivo unenhanced MR was performed in 8 healthy volunteers on a 7T whole-body MR system. After B0 shimming the following sequences were obtained: 1) 2D and 3D spoiled gradient-echo sequences (FLASH, VIBE), 2) T1-weighted 2D in and opposed phase 3) True-FISP imaging and 4) a T2-weighted turbo spin echo (TSE) sequence. Visual evaluation of the overall image quality was performed by two radiologists. Results Renal MRI at 7T was feasible in all eight subjects. Best image quality was found using T1-weighted gradient echo MRI, providing high anatomical details and excellent conspicuity of the non-enhanced vasculature. With successful shimming, B1 signal voids could be effectively reduced and/or shifted out of the region of interest in most sequence types. However, T2-weighted TSE imaging remained challenging and strongly impaired because of signal heterogeneities in three volunteers. Conclusion The results demonstrate the feasibility and diagnostic potential of dedicated 7T renal imaging. Further optimisation of imaging sequences and dedicated RF coil concepts are expected to improve the acquisition quality and ultimately provide high clinical diagnostic value. Y1 - 2011 SN - 1432-1084 VL - 21 IS - 4 SP - 841 EP - 849 PB - Springer CY - Berlin ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Orzada, Stephan A1 - Maderwald, Stefan A1 - Poser, Benedikt Andreas A1 - Bitz, Andreas A1 - Quick, Harald H. A1 - Ladd, Mark E. T1 - RF excitation using time interleaved acquisition of modes (TIAMO) to address B1 inhomogeneity in high-field MRI JF - Magnetic Resonance in Medicine N2 - As the field strength and, therefore, the operational frequency in MRI is increased, the wavelength approaches the size of the human head/body, resulting in wave effects, which cause signal decreases and dropouts. Several multichannel approaches have been proposed to try to tackle these problems, including RF shimming, where each element in an array is driven by its own amplifier and modulated with a certain (constant) amplitude and phase relative to the other elements, and Transmit SENSE, where spatially tailored RF pulses are used. In this article, a relatively inexpensive and easy to use imaging scheme for 7 Tesla imaging is proposed to mitigate signal voids due to B1 field inhomogeneity. Two time-interleaved images are acquired using a different excitation mode for each. By forming virtual receive elements, both images are reconstructed together using GRAPPA to achieve a more homogeneous image, with only small SNR and SAR penalty in head and body imaging at 7 Tesla. Y1 - 2010 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/mrm.22527 SN - 1522-2594 VL - 64 IS - 2 SP - 327 EP - 333 PB - Wiley-Liss CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hansen, Volkert W. A1 - Bitz, Andreas A1 - Streckert, Joachim R. T1 - RF Exposure of Biological Systems in Radial Waveguides JF - IEEE Transactions on Electromagnetic Compatibility Y1 - 1999 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/15.809852 SN - 1558-187X VL - 41 IS - 4 SP - 487 EP - 493 ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Bitz, Andreas A1 - Streckert, J. A1 - Hansen, V.W. A1 - Buschmann, J. T1 - RF exposure of non restrained animals in an overmoded radial waveguide T2 - 22nd BEMS Annual Meeting, Munich, Germany, 2000 Y1 - 2000 SP - 63 PB - Bioelectromagnetics Society CY - Frederick, MD ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fiedler, Thomas M. A1 - Ladd, Mark E. A1 - Bitz, Andreas T1 - RF safety assessment of a bilateral four-channel transmit/receive 7 Tesla breast coil: SAR versus temperature limits JF - Medical Physics Y1 - 2017 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/mp.12034 N1 - This article is corrected by: Errata: Erratum: “RF safety assessment of a bilateral four-channel transmit/receive 7 Tesla breast coil: SAR versus tissue temperature limits” [Med. Phys. 44(1), 143–157 (2017)] Volume 44, Issue 2, 772 VL - 44 IS - 1 SP - 143 EP - 157 ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Bitz, Andreas A1 - Kobus, Thiele A1 - Scheenen, Tom W. J. A1 - Ladd, Mark E. T1 - RF Safety of the Combination of a 31P Tx/Rx Endorectal Coil & a 1H Tx/Rx Body Array for 31P MRSI of the Prostate at 7T (311.) T2 - 20th Annual ISMRM scientific meeting and exhibition 2012 : Melbourne, Australia, 5 - 11 May 2012 Y1 - 2013 SN - 978-1-62276-943-8 SN - 1545-4428 IS - Volume 1 SP - 311 PB - Curran CY - Red Hook, NY ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fiedler, Thomas M. A1 - Ladd, Mark E. A1 - Clemens, Markus A1 - Bitz, Andreas T1 - Safety of subjects during radiofrequency exposure in ultra-high-field magnetic resonance imaging JF - IEEE Letters on Electromagnetic Compatibility Practice and Applications N2 - Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is one of the most important medical imaging techniques. Since the introduction of MRI in the mid-1980s, there has been a continuous trend toward higher static magnetic fields to obtain i.a. a higher signal-to-noise ratio. The step toward ultra-high-field (UHF) MRI at 7 Tesla and higher, however, creates several challenges regarding the homogeneity of the spin excitation RF transmit field and the RF exposure of the subject. In UHF MRI systems, the wavelength of the RF field is in the range of the diameter of the human body, which can result in inhomogeneous spin excitation and local SAR hotspots. To optimize the homogeneity in a region of interest, UHF MRI systems use parallel transmit systems with multiple transmit antennas and time-dependent modulation of the RF signal in the individual transmit channels. Furthermore, SAR increases with increasing field strength, while the SAR limits remain unchanged. Two different approaches to generate the RF transmit field in UHF systems using antenna arrays close and remote to the body are investigated in this letter. Achievable imaging performance is evaluated compared to typical clinical RF transmit systems at lower field strength. The evaluation has been performed under consideration of RF exposure based on local SAR and tissue temperature. Furthermore, results for thermal dose as an alternative RF exposure metric are presented. Y1 - 2020 SN - 2637-6423 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/LEMCPA.2020.3029747 VL - 2 IS - 3 SP - 1 EP - 8 PB - IEEE CY - New York, NY ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fiedler, Thomas M. A1 - Ladd, Mark E. A1 - Bitz, Andreas T1 - SAR Simulations & Safety JF - NeuroImage Y1 - 2017 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2017.03.035 SN - 1053-8119 IS - Epub ahead of print PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Umutlu, Lale A1 - Kraff, Oliver A1 - Fischer, Anja A1 - Kinner, Sonja A1 - Maderwald, Stefan A1 - Nassenstein, Kai A1 - Nensa, Felix A1 - Grüneisen, Johannes A1 - Orzada, Stephan A1 - Bitz, Andreas A1 - Forsting, Michael A1 - Ladd, Mark E. A1 - Lauenstein, Thomas C. T1 - Seven-Tesla MRI of the female pelvis JF - European Radiology Y1 - 2013 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00330-013-2868-0 SN - 1432-1084 VL - 23 IS - 9 SP - 2364 EP - 2373 PB - Springer CY - Berlin ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Bitz, Andreas A1 - Streckert, J. A1 - Hansen, V.W. A1 - Stogbauer, F. ED - Hietanen, Maila ED - Jokela, Kari ED - Juutilainen, Jukka ED - Työterveyslaitos, T1 - Shielded RF-exposure system with an integrated LF-measuring system for in vitro experiments with cell-layers T2 - Proceedings of the Ebea 2001 : 5th International Congress of the European Bioelectromagnetics Association (Ebea) ; 6-8 September 2001, Marina Congress Center, Helsinki, Finland Y1 - 2001 SN - 9789518024401 SP - 67 EP - 68 PB - Finnish Institute of Occupational Health CY - Helsinki ER -