TY - JOUR A1 - Fiedler, Thomas M. A1 - Orzada, Stephan A1 - Flöser, Martina A1 - Rietsch, Stefan H. G. A1 - Schmidt, Simon A1 - Stelter, Jonathan K. A1 - Wittrich, Marco A1 - Quick, Harald H. A1 - Bitz, Andreas A1 - Ladd, Mark E. T1 - Performance and safety assessment of an integrated transmitarray for body imaging at 7 T under consideration of specificabsorption rate, tissue temperature, and thermal dose JF - NMR in Biomedicine N2 - In this study, the performance of an integrated body-imaging array for 7 T with 32 radiofrequency (RF) channels under consideration of local specific absorption rate (SAR), tissue temperature, and thermal dose limits was evaluated and the imaging performance was compared with a clinical 3 T body coil. Thirty-two transmit elements were placed in three rings between the bore liner and RF shield of the gradient coil. Slice-selective RF pulse optimizations for B1 shimming and spokes were performed for differently oriented slices in the body under consideration of realistic constraints for power and local SAR. To improve the B1+ homogeneity, safety assessments based on temperature and thermal dose were performed to possibly allow for higher input power for the pulse optimization than permissible with SAR limits. The results showed that using two spokes, the 7 T array outperformed the 3 T birdcage in all the considered regions of interest. However, a significantly higher SAR or lower duty cycle at 7 T is necessary in some cases to achieve similar B1+ homogeneity as at 3 T. The homogeneity in up to 50 cm-long coronal slices can particularly benefit from the high RF shim performance provided by the 32 RF channels. The thermal dose approach increases the allowable input power and the corresponding local SAR, in one example up to 100 W/kg, without limiting the exposure time necessary for an MR examination. In conclusion, the integrated antenna array at 7 T enables a clinical workflow for body imaging and comparable imaging performance to a conventional 3 T clinical body coil. KW - body imaging at 7 T MRI KW - thermal dose KW - tissue temperature KW - transmit antenna arrays Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/nbm.4656 SN - 0952-3480 (Print) SN - 1099-1492 (Online) VL - 35 IS - 5 SP - 1 EP - 17 PB - Wiley ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Orzada, Stephan A1 - Fiedler, Thomas M. A1 - Bitz, Andreas A1 - Ladd, Mark E. A1 - Quick, Harald H. T1 - Local SAR compression with overestimation control to reduce maximum relative SAR overestimation and improve multi-channel RF array performance JF - Magnetic Resonance Materials in Physics, Biology and Medicine N2 - Objective In local SAR compression algorithms, the overestimation is generally not linearly dependent on actual local SAR. This can lead to large relative overestimation at low actual SAR values, unnecessarily constraining transmit array performance. Method Two strategies are proposed to reduce maximum relative overestimation for a given number of VOPs. The first strategy uses an overestimation matrix that roughly approximates actual local SAR; the second strategy uses a small set of pre-calculated VOPs as the overestimation term for the compression. Result Comparison with a previous method shows that for a given maximum relative overestimation the number of VOPs can be reduced by around 20% at the cost of a higher absolute overestimation at high actual local SAR values. Conclusion The proposed strategies outperform a previously published strategy and can improve the SAR compression where maximum relative overestimation constrains the performance of parallel transmission. Y1 - 2020 SN - 1352-8661 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10334-020-00890-0 IS - 34 (2021) SP - 153 EP - 164 PB - Springer CY - Heidelberg ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rietsch, Stefan H. G. A1 - Brunheim, Sascha A1 - Orzada, Stephan A1 - Voelker, Maximilian N. A1 - Maderwald, Stefan A1 - Bitz, Andreas A1 - Gratz, Marcel A1 - Ladd, Mark E. A1 - Quick, Harald H. T1 - Development and evaluation of a 16-channel receive-only RF coil to improve 7T ultra-high field body MRI with focus on the spine JF - Magnetic Resonance in Medicine Y1 - 2019 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/mrm.27731 SN - 1522-2594 IS - Early view PB - Wiley CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Orzada, Stephan A1 - Solbach, Klaus A1 - Gratz, Marcel A1 - Brunheim, Sascha A1 - Fiedler, Thomas M. A1 - Johst, Sören A1 - Bitz, Andreas A1 - Shooshtary, Samaneh A1 - Abuelhaija, Asjraf A1 - Voelker, Maximilian N. A1 - Rietsch, Stefan H. G. A1 - Kraff, Oliver A1 - Maderwald, Stefan A1 - Flöser, Martina A1 - Oehmingen, Mark A1 - Quick, Harald H. A1 - Ladd, Mark E. T1 - A 32-channel parallel transmit system add-on for 7T MRI JF - Plos one Y1 - 2019 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0222452 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rietsch, Stefan H. G. A1 - Pfaffenrot, Viktor A1 - Bitz, Andreas A1 - Orzada, Stephan A1 - Brunheim, Sascha A1 - Lazik-Palm, Andrea A1 - Theysohn, Jens M. A1 - Ladd, Mark E. A1 - Quick, Harald H. A1 - Kraff, Oliver T1 - An 8-channel transceiver 7-channel receive RF coil setup for high SNR ultrahigh-field MRI of the shoulder at 7T JF - Medical Physics Y1 - 2017 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/mp.12612 SN - 0094-2405 IS - Article in press PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Orzada, Stephan A1 - Bitz, Andreas A1 - Johst, Sören A1 - Gratz, Marcel A1 - Völker, Maximilian N. A1 - Kraff, Oliver A1 - Abuelhaija, Ashraf A1 - Fiedler, Thomas M. A1 - Solbach, Klaus A1 - Quick, Harald H. A1 - Ladd, Mark E. T1 - Analysis of an integrated 8-Channel Tx/Rx body array for use as a body coil in 7-Tesla MRI JF - Frontiers in Physics Y1 - 2017 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fphy.2017.00017 SN - 2296-424X N1 - Article number 17 VL - 5 IS - Jun ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lagemaat, Miriam W. A1 - Breukels, Vincent A1 - Vos, Eline K. A1 - B., Adam A1 - Uden, Mark J. van A1 - Orzada, Stephan A1 - Bitz, Andreas A1 - Maas, Marnix C. A1 - Scheenen, Tom W. J. T1 - ¹H MR spectroscopic imaging of the prostate at 7T using spectral-spatial pulses JF - Magnetic Resonance in Medicine N2 - Purpose To assess the feasibility of prostate ¹H MR spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) using low-power spectral-spatial (SPSP) pulses at 7T, exploiting accurate spectral selection and spatial selectivity simultaneously. Methods A double spin-echo sequence was equipped with SPSP refocusing pulses with a spectral selectivity of 1 ppm. Three-dimensional prostate ¹H-MRSI at 7T was performed with the SPSP-MRSI sequence using an 8-channel transmit array coil and an endorectal receive coil in three patients with prostate cancer and in one healthy subject. No additional water or lipid suppression pulses were used. Results Prostate ¹H-MRSI could be obtained well within specific absorption rate (SAR) limits in a clinically feasible time (10 min). Next to the common citrate signals, the prostate spectra exhibited high spermine signals concealing creatine and sometimes also choline. Residual lipid signals were observed at the edges of the prostate because of limitations in spectral and spatial selectivity. Conclusion It is possible to perform prostate ¹H-MRSI at 7T with a SPSP-MRSI sequence while using separate transmit and receive coils. This low-SAR MRSI concept provides the opportunity to increase spatial resolution of MRSI within reasonable scan times. Y1 - 2016 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/mrm.25569 SN - 1522-2594 VL - 75 IS - 3 SP - 933 EP - 945 PB - International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Orzada, Stephan A1 - Ladd, Mark E. A1 - Bitz, Andreas T1 - A method to approximate maximum local SAR in multichannel transmit MR systems without transmit phase information JF - Magnetic Resonance in Medicine N2 - Purpose To calculate local specific absorption rate (SAR) correctly, both the amplitude and phase of the signal in each transmit channel have to be known. In this work, we propose a method to derive a conservative upper bound for the local SAR, with a reasonable safety margin without knowledge of the transmit phases of the channels. Methods The proposed method uses virtual observation points (VOPs). Correction factors are calculated for each set of VOPs that prevent underestimation of local SAR when the VOPs are applied with the correct amplitudes but fixed phases. Results The proposed method proved to be superior to the worst-case calculation based on the maximum eigenvalue of the VOPs. The mean overestimation for six coil setups could be reduced, whereas no underestimation of the maximum local SAR occurred. In the best investigated case, the overestimation could be reduced from a factor of 3.3 to a factor of 1.7. Conclusion The upper bound for the local SAR calculated with the proposed method allows a fast estimation of the local SAR based on power measurements in the transmit channels and facilitates SAR monitoring in systems that do not have the capability to monitor transmit phases Y1 - 2016 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/mrm.26398 SN - 1522-2594 VL - 78 IS - 2 SP - 805 EP - 811 PB - International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bank, Bart L. van de A1 - Orzada, Stephan A1 - Smits, Frits A1 - Lagemaat, Miriam W. A1 - Rodgers, Christopher T. A1 - Bitz, Andreas A1 - Scheenen, Tom W. J. T1 - Optimized (31) P MRS in the human brain at 7 T with a dedicated RF coil setup JF - NMR in Biomedicine Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/nbm.3422 SN - 1099-1492 VL - 28 IS - 11 SP - 1570 EP - 1578 PB - Wiley CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lagemaat, Miriam W. A1 - Maas, Marnix C. A1 - Vos, Eline K. A1 - Bitz, Andreas A1 - Orzada, Stephan A1 - Weiland, Elisabeth A1 - Uden, Mark J. van A1 - Kobus, Thiele A1 - Heerschap, Arend A1 - Scheenen, Tom W. J. T1 - (31) P MR spectroscopic imaging of the human prostate at 7 T: T1 relaxation times, Nuclear Overhauser Effect, and spectral characterization JF - Magnetic Resonance in Medicine Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/mrm.25209 SN - 1522-2594 VL - 73 IS - 3 SP - 909 EP - 920 PB - Wiley CY - Weinheim ER -