Integrated Next-generation RF Transmit, Receive and B0 shimming coil system for brain and spinal cord MRI at 7 Tesla

用于 7 特斯拉脑部和脊髓 MRI 的集成下一代射频发射、接收和 B0 匀场线圈系统

• 批准号: 10681409
• 负责人: Xinqiang Yan
• 金额: $ 42.05万
• 依托单位: VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-08-15 至 2026-05-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10681409
• 关键词: Algorithms; Anatomy; Area; Behavior; Brain; Brain imaging; Central Nervous System; Cerebellum; Cerebrum; Cervical spinal cord structure; Cervical spine; Choking; Communities; Compensation; Complex; Data Analyses; Development; Disease; Electromagnetics; Elements; Engineering; Functional Imaging; Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Geometry; Goals; Human; Image; Imaging technology; Impairment; Injury; Investigation; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Measures; Mechanics; Motor; Nature; Noise; Organ; Pain; Pathway interactions; Pattern; Performance; Physiologic pulse; Process; Protocols documentation; Reproducibility of Results; Resolution; Rest; Route; Sensory; Signal Transduction; Site; Spinal Cord; Spinal cord injury; Structure; System; Therapy Evaluation; Vendor; Vertebral column; Visualization; Weight; Work; chronic pain; density; design; design and construction; experimental analysis; human subject; improved; innovation; insight; interest; models and simulation; motor disorder; nervous system disorder; neural; next generation; novel; operation; power consumption; response; spinal cord imaging; tool; transmission process; virtual

Project Summary/Abstract This proposal is to develop a pre-shimmed parallel transmit array, an optimized receive array, and an RF/ΔB0 array to correct the severe B1 inhomogeneity, maximize the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and correct B0 inhomogeneity in simultaneous human brain and spinal cord MR imaging 7 Tesla (T). Simultaneous functional imaging of the brain and spinal cord can provide valuable insight into interactions and processing pathways between these organs in normal and abnormal states of spinal cord injury, chronic pain, and motor disease. It is emerging as a new tool to study the central nervous system and is necessary to enable new investigations of task-based and resting-state sensory/motor processing throughout the cerebrum and spinal cord and shed new light on the nature of resting-state networks within the cerebellum and spinal cord. 7T MRI offers new opportunities to visualize structures of interest with high spatial resolution and enhanced conspicuity and to detect brain function and networks with greater sensitivity. However, at high fields, B1 and B0 inhomogeneities, and the lack of optimized receive coils for some specific applications are major challenges that limit imaging performance. Existed designs are aimed at either brain-only or spinal-cord-only applications, and none have solved all the challenges mentioned above. Moreover, the performance of these designs is limited by the small number of transmit channels available from scanner vendors, and a lack of optimization for actual imaging applications. The first goal of this project is to build a pre-shimmed transmit array which compresses 48 basic coils into 8-“virtual” coils with RF pulse jointly optimized weights, to maximize the transmit performance of standard 8-transmit-channel 7 Tesla scanners. The second goal of this project is to build a close-fitting massive- element receive array with optimum coil geometry/layout/size, to provide high SNR and excellent parallel imaging performance in both the whole brain and the spinal cord. The third goal of this project is to build routing-optimized low-profile RF/ΔB0 array to correct B0 inhomogeneity with less hardware complications. The optimization algorithms, electromagnetic simulation models, and electric/mechanical designs of the final pre-shimmed transmit array, high dense receive array and the routing-optimized ΔB0 arrays, will be distributed for open access. These transmit, receive, and ΔB0 arrays do not depend on the vendors’ platform and can be easily transferred to other 7T sites, with benefits for the entire community.

项目总结/摘要 该方案是研制一个预匀场的并行发射阵、一个优化的接收阵和一个RF/Δ B 0 阵列来校正严重的B1不均匀性，最大化信噪比（SNR），并校正B 0 同时人脑和脊髓MR成像中的不均匀性7特斯拉（T）。同时泛函 大脑和脊髓的成像可以提供对相互作用和处理途径的有价值的洞察 这些器官之间的正常和异常状态的脊髓损伤，慢性疼痛和运动疾病。是 作为研究中枢神经系统的一种新工具出现，并且对于新的研究是必要的。 基于任务和静息状态的感觉/运动处理贯穿整个大脑和脊髓， 小脑和脊髓内静息态网络的性质。7 T MRI提供新的 有机会以高空间分辨率和增强的显著性可视化感兴趣的结构， 更灵敏地检测大脑功能和网络。然而，在高场，B1和B 0不均匀性， 以及缺乏针对某些特定应用的优化接收线圈是限制成像的主要挑战 性能现有的设计都是针对大脑或脊髓的应用，没有一个 解决了上面提到的所有问题。此外，这些设计的性能受限于小的 扫描仪供应商提供的传输通道数量有限，并且缺乏对实际成像的优化 应用.该项目的第一个目标是建立一个预匀场发射阵列，压缩48个基本 线圈分成8个“虚拟”线圈，具有RF脉冲联合优化的权重，以最大限度地提高 标准的8通道7特斯拉扫描仪该项目的第二个目标是建立一个紧密配合的巨大的- 具有最佳线圈几何形状/布局/尺寸的单元接收阵列，提供高SNR和出色的并行成像 整个大脑和脊髓的表现。本项目的第三个目标是建立路由优化 低剖面RF/Δ B 0阵列，以更少的硬件复杂性校正B 0不均匀性。优化 算法、电磁仿真模型和最终预匀场的电气/机械设计 发射阵列、高密度接收阵列和路由优化的Δ B 0阵列将被分发用于开放访问。 这些发射、接收和Δ B 0阵列不依赖于供应商的平台，可以轻松转移 到其他7 T站点，对整个社区都有好处。