Effects of proximity and noise level of phased array coil elements on overall signal-to-noise in parallel MR spectroscopy

Parallel imaging using phased array coils facilitates accelerated magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and spectroscopy (MRS). Parallel data reconstruction requires the combination of data from individual coil elements, but limited combination algorithms currently exist for higher-order phased arrays and MRS data. Here, we present a systematic framework for identifying coil proximity-related signal inhomogeneities and noise levels in phased array coils that may affect sensitivity of parallel MRS. Single-voxel MRS was acquired in nine voxel positions in a brain spectroscopy phantom on a 3T whole-body MR scanner using commercially available 64-, 32-, and 20-channel phased array coils.
Source: Magnetic Resonance Imaging - Category: Radiology Authors: Tags: Technical note Source Type: research