Development and Translation of High Performance Receive Arrays for Pediatric MRI

描述(由申请人提供)：动机：我们的目标是开发和实施新的方法来设计高性能的儿科核磁共振接收阵列。最终目标是灵活、轻便、舒适的阵列，使儿童能够在没有麻醉的情况下接受核磁共振检查。 这个项目建立在我们在“快速，稳健的儿科核磁共振”EB R01009690，Vasanawala，PI的成功基础上。在这项研究中，当前方案的研究人员开发并制作了第一个儿科专用腹部阵列线圈的原型，在数百名儿童身上进行了测试。这一设计正在由GE Healthcare商业化，并在当前的产品路线图上。这是儿科核磁共振的一大进步。该阵列增强的灵敏度和并行成像能力对于开发基于压缩传感、并行成像和自适应运动校正的高速加速成像方法至关重要，这些都是先前R01的其他目标。在过去的四年中，这些发展导致我们机构的儿科体部MRI使用率增加了250%，而CT使用率下降了50%。方法：这是我们朝着使儿科患者更容易获得和更有效地使用MRI迈出的第一步。我们已经很好地进行了下一步，也就是这项提案的主题。该项目进行了一系列开发，从将立即产生临床和商业影响的短期目标，到将从根本上改变接收阵列线圈的设计、建造和使用方式的中期和长期目标。该项目的动机是儿科MRI，因为这些患者对环境最敏感，并且将从具有更高性能的侵入性较小的阵列中获益最多。然而，一旦建立了这些技术，我们预计所有接收阵列都可以进行转换。该项目将在三个开发目标下进行，随后将进行临床验证研究。一是研制更灵活的第二代儿科阵列线圈，以适应不同大小的儿科患者。我们将在临床上对线圈进行初步测试，以确定性能和患者接受程度。第二个目标是利用印刷电子技术制造完全灵活、轻巧的阵列线圈，可以融入到儿童服装或毯子中。这些柔性线圈的各种配置将在临床上进行初步测试。第三个目标是开发用于柔性阵列线圈的小型、低功耗、高性能电子产品，最终目标是完全无线阵列。这一目标的成果将与第二个目标的开发相结合，实现无线完全柔性印刷线圈。最后，新的线圈将在临床上进行测试，以确定与目前的线圈阵列相比，它们在不同年龄的儿童上进行诊断成功检查的相对能力。意义：结果将是设计、构造和使用接收数组的方式发生革命性的变化。这将增加儿科MRI的能力，因为线圈更适合解剖学。线圈将不会那么可怕，也不会那么侵扰，从而增加孩子们的接受度。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Motivation: We aim to develop and implement new approaches to the design of high performance receive arrays for pediatric MRI. The ultimate goal is flexible, light, comfortable arrays that enable children to undergo MRI without anesthesia. This project builds on our success in "Rapid, Robust Pediatric MRI" EB R01009690, Vasanawala, PI. In it, the investigators of the current proposal developed and prototyped the first dedicated pediatric abdominal array coil, testing it on hundreds of children. This design is being commercialized by GE Healthcare, and is on the current product roadmap. This is a major advance for pediatric MRI. The enhanced sensitivity and parallel imaging capability of this array has been critical for developing highly accelerated imaging methods based on compressed sensing, parallel imaging, and adaptive motion correction that were the other aims of the previous R01. Over the last four years, these developments resulted in a 250% increase in pediatric body MRI utilization at our institution and a 50% decrease in CT. Approach: This was our first step towards making MRI much more accessible and effective for pediatric patients. We are already well along in the next steps, the subject of this proposal. The project proceeds in a sequence of developments that range from short term goals that will have immediate clinical and commercial impact, to intermediate and long term goals that will fundamentally change the way receive array coils are designed, constructed, and used. The motivation for this project is pediatric MRI, because these patients are the most sensitive to the environment, and would benefit most from less intrusive arrays with higher performance. However, once these technologies are established, we expect translation to all receive arrays. The project will proceed in three development aims followed by a clinical validation study. The first is to develop and fabricate a second generation pediatric array coil that is more flexible, so that it will confom to different size pediatric patients. We will pilot test the coil in the clinic to determine performance and patient acceptance. The second aim is to use printed electronics technology to fabricate array coils that are completely flexible, light and can be incorporated into children's garments or blankets. Various configurations of these flexible coils will be pilot tested in the clinic. The third aim is to develop small, low power, high performance electronics for flexible array coils, with the ultimate goal of completely wireless arrays. The results of this aim will be combined with developments of the second aim to achieve wireless completely flexible printed coils. Finally, the new coils will be tested in the clinic to determine their relative abilities toyield diagnostically successful exams on children of varying ages compared to current coil arrays. Significance: The result will be a revolutionary change in the way that receives arrays are designed, constructed and used. This will increase the capability of pediatric MRI, due to the better fit of the coils to anatomy. Coils will be less formidable and less intrusive, increasing children's' acceptance.