Beyond Standard MRI Radio Frequency Detectors and Arrays for High Field and High Density Applications

超越标准 MRI 射频探测器和阵列，适用于高场和高密度应用

• 批准号: RGPIN-2014-04844
• 负责人: DeZanche, Nicola
• 金额: $ 2.11万
• 依托单位: University of Alberta
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2018-01-01 至 2019-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=648876
• 关键词: Beyond; Standard; MRI; Radio; Frequency

This research program aims to advance the technology of radio frequency (RF) detector "coils" and systems for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). During the past five years of NSERC funding I have established a new lab at the University of Alberta and we have discovered unique technical solutions that will improve the quality and acquisition speed of MR images. We will begin by verifying these approaches experimentally by building versions of RF coils with and without the new technologies and comparing the results.**Another way to achieve improvements in MRI speed and image quality is to make the large magnets on which MRI is based much stronger. However, as the magnetic field increases it becomes more difficult to produce images without bright and dark areas that make them harder to interpret by radiologists. At the strongest magnetic fields (7 tesla or more) imaging large areas and organs of the body such as the gut becomes intractable. At the University of Alberta we have an intermediate strength magnet (4.7 tesla), which is stronger than the strongest ones used routinely in hospitals (3 tesla) and will be upgraded with RF transmitter technology (funded by CFI) that allows the bright and dark areas of the images to be adjusted for the best uniformity. This has never been done at 4.7 tesla and it allows us to explore body imaging at this intermediate magnetic field strength. We will develop RF "antennas" optimized for this field strength by using simulations and measurements on phantoms that mimic the body.**This research program also aims to design RF coils that are optimized for the PET-MRI system (also funded by CFI) that will be installed in Edmonton's cancer hospital. Positron emission tomography (PET) is used to identify tumors after the patient is injected with a radioactive tracer. However, the RF coils used for the MRI part of the machine interfere with the readings taken by the PET detectors. We aim to eliminate this interference by making the RF coils as "transparent" as possible to the PET by using new, thinner materials.

该研究计划旨在推进射频（RF）探测器“线圈”和磁共振成像（MRI）系统的技术。在过去五年的NSERC资助中，我在阿尔伯塔大学建立了一个新的实验室，我们发现了独特的技术解决方案，可以提高MR图像的质量和采集速度。我们将开始通过构建具有和不具有新技术的RF线圈版本并比较结果来实验验证这些方法。**实现MRI速度和图像质量改进的另一种方法是使MRI所基于的大磁体更强。然而，随着磁场的增加，产生没有明亮和黑暗区域的图像变得更加困难，这使得放射科医生更难解释。在最强磁场（7特斯拉或更高）下，对身体的大面积和器官（如肠道）进行成像变得棘手。在阿尔伯塔大学，我们有一个中等强度的磁铁（4.7特斯拉），它比医院常规使用的最强磁铁（3特斯拉）更强，并将使用RF发射机技术进行升级（由CFI资助），允许图像的亮区和暗区进行调整，以获得最佳的均匀性。这在4.7特斯拉的情况下从未发生过，它允许我们在这种中等磁场强度下探索身体成像。我们将通过对模拟人体的幻影进行模拟和测量，开发针对这种场强进行优化的RF“天线”。**该研究计划还旨在设计针对PET-MRI系统（也由CFI资助）进行优化的RF线圈，该系统将安装在埃德蒙顿的癌症医院。正电子发射断层扫描（PET）用于在患者注射放射性示踪剂后识别肿瘤。然而，用于机器的MRI部分的RF线圈干扰PET探测器获取的读数。我们的目标是通过使用新的、更薄的材料使RF线圈对PET尽可能“透明”来消除这种干扰。