Refine
Year of publication
Institute
- Fachbereich Medizintechnik und Technomathematik (1545)
- Fachbereich Wirtschaftswissenschaften (700)
- Fachbereich Elektrotechnik und Informationstechnik (630)
- Fachbereich Energietechnik (598)
- Fachbereich Chemie und Biotechnologie (588)
- INB - Institut für Nano- und Biotechnologien (524)
- Fachbereich Maschinenbau und Mechatronik (464)
- IfB - Institut für Bioengineering (429)
- Fachbereich Luft- und Raumfahrttechnik (368)
- Fachbereich Bauingenieurwesen (327)
Has Fulltext
- no (5518) (remove)
Language
Document Type
- Article (5518) (remove)
Keywords
- avalanche (5)
- Earthquake (4)
- LAPS (4)
- field-effect sensor (4)
- frequency mixing magnetic detection (4)
- CellDrum (3)
- Heparin (3)
- SLM (3)
- capacitive field-effect sensor (3)
- hydrogen peroxide (3)
Objective:
To develop a transmit/receive radiofrequency (RF) array for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the carotid arteries at 7 T. The prototype is characterized in numerical simulations and bench measurements, and the feasibility of plaque imaging at 7 T is demonstrated in first in vivo images.
Materials and Methods:
The RF phased array coil consists of 8 surface loop coils. To allow imaging of both sides of the neck, the RF array is divided into 2 coil clusters, each with 4 overlapping loop elements. For safety validation, numerical computations of the RF field distribution and the corresponding specific absorption rate were performed on the basis of a heterogeneous human body model. To validate the coil model, maps of the transmit B1+ field were compared between simulation and measurement. In vivo images of a healthy volunteer and a patient (ulcerating plaque and a 50% stenosis of the right internal carotid artery) were acquired using a 3-dimensional FLASH sequence with a high isotropic spatial resolution of 0.54 mm as well as using pulse-triggered proton density (PD)/T2-weighted turbo spin echo sequences.
Results:
Measurements of the S-parameters yielded a reflection and isolation of the coil elements of better than −18 and −13 dB, respectively. Measurements of the g-factor indicated good image quality for parallel imaging acceleration factors up to 2.4. A similar distribution and a very good match of the absolute values were found between the measured and simulated B1+ transmit RF field for the validation of the coil model. In vivo images revealed good signal excitation of both sides of the neck and a high vessel-to-background image contrast for the noncontrast-enhanced 3-dimensional FLASH sequence. Imaging at 7 T could depict the extent of stenosis, and revealed the disruption and ulcer of the plaque.
Conclusions:
This study demonstrates that 2 four-channel transmit/receive RF arrays for each side of the neck is a suitable concept for in vivo MRI of the carotid arteries at 7 Tesla. Further studies are needed to explore and exploit the full potential of 7 T high-field MRI for carotid atherosclerotic plaque imaging.