Radiofrequency coils for magnetic resonance microscopy

NMR Biomed. 2009 Nov;22(9):975-81. doi: 10.1002/nbm.1246.

Abstract

Given the several orders of magnitude fewer spins per voxel for MR microscopy than for conventional MRI, efficient coil design is important to obtain sufficient signal-to-noise within reasonable data acquisition times. As MR microscopy is typically performed using very high magnetic fields, coil design must also incorporate the effects of increased component losses and skin-depth-dependent resistance, as well as radiation losses and phase effects for coils when conductor dimensions constitute a substantial fraction of the electromagnetic wavelength. For samples much less than 1 mm in size, wire solenoids or microfabricated planar coils are used. For samples with diameters of several millimeters, saddle, birdcage, Alderman-Grant or millipede coils become the preferred choice. Recent advances in multiple-coil probes and phased arrays have been used to reduce data acquisition time and/or increase sample throughput, and small superconducting coils have shown significant improvements in signal-to-noise over equivalently sized room-temperature coils.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Computer Simulation
  • Diffusion
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins / metabolism
  • Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy / instrumentation*
  • Mice
  • Microscopy / instrumentation*
  • Microscopy, Fluorescence
  • Radio Waves*
  • Rats
  • Spin Labels
  • Time Factors

Substances

  • Spin Labels
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins