MULTIPLEXED RECEIVER COIL ARRAY FOR MRI

需要更高的图像分辨率、更高的对比度、更小的视场 查看和更短的成像时间推动了更大规模的 磁铁、成像技术的改进和更高效的无线电 频率(RF)传感器。磁体的优化正在进行中 而脉冲技术和射频线圈的发展继续提供 以适度的成本实现显著的改进。射频的最新改进 线圈技术已经引入了线圈阵列 多通道接收器。此文件的当前可用版本 技术非常昂贵(约25万美元)，因为需要 完整的接收器通道以匹配阵列中的每个元素。主 这一提议的主旨是提供 通过使用高速多路复用器来实现多通道系统。这 方法将简化必要的硬件，通过将 线圈阵列通过时分复用单元。本单位 可以以适中的成本(25K美元)进行营销，并可以作为附加组件进行设计 现有的核磁共振系统。这种方法的可行性已经得到了证明。 在第一阶段授予中，具有与现有 磁共振成像系统。此外，还对正交线圈进行了改进。 可以合并到多路复用系统中的阵列单元。 这样的系统将提供所需的高性能和吞吐量 来自现代成像系统，其成本和复杂性仅为 现有技术。

The need for greater image resolution, higher contrast, small fields of view and shorter imaging times has driven the development of larger magnets, improvements in imaging techniques and more efficient radio frequency (RF) transducers. Optimization of the magnet is well underway while pulse techniques and RF coil development continue to provide significant improvements at a modest cost. The latest improvement in RF coil technology has been the introduction of the coil array with multichannel receivers. The currently available version of this technology is very expensive (ca. $250K) because of the need for a complete receiver channel to match each element in the array. The main thrust of this proposal is to provide the performance advantage of the multichannel system through the use of a high-speed multiplexer. This approach would simplify the necessary hardware by putting the output of the coil array through a time division multiplexing unit. This unit could be marketed for a modest cost ($25K) and be designed as an add-in to existing MRI systems. The feasibility of this approach has been shown in the Phase I grant with a minimum number of connections to an existing MRI system. Additionally, improvements have been made in quadrature coil array elements which can be incorporated into the multiplexing system. Such a system would provide the high performance and throughput required from modem imaging systems at a fraction of the cost and complexity of existing technology.