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Scott King
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RF Coils
The radio frequency (RF) coil is the "antenna" of the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system, broadcasting the RF signal into the patient and/or receiving the return signal. RF coils can be receive-only, in which case the body coil is used as a transmitter; or transmit and receive (transceiver).
Surface coils are the simplest design of the RF coil. They are simple loops of wire, commonly circular or rectangular, that are placed over the region of interest. The sensitivity of a surface coil decreases with distance from the coil and is generally limited to about one radius of the coil. In human imaging, surface coils are commonly used for spines and shoulders. They are also often employed for head imaging of small laboratory animals like mice and rats.
The volume RF coils provide better homogeneity of the RF field in the area of interest than surface coils but their sensitivity is reduced when compared to the surface resonator. The bird cage design probably provides the best RF homogeneity of all the RF coils. This type of coil is commonly used as a whole body coil and as a transceiver coil for head imaging.
Figure 1
MR image of woodchuck liver
Figure 2
Different sizes of solenoid volume coils.
Recently developed arrays of mutually decoupled surface coils (phased arrays) can simultaneously acquire multiple images. These arrays offer the high sensitivity and resolution of a small surface coil over a field of view normally associated with body imaging but with no increase in imaging time.
Related Information
Read more about RF Coils:
Related Projects:
- Multi Transmitter Arrays
- MRI Console Development
- Gradient Coils
- FAST MRI
- MRI Imaging Methods
- Gradient Free MRI
- MRI Systems
- MR Research
- MR Technology Development
- Musaik RF Array Designer Software
