A 16 Channel Phased Array Coil Optimized for Diagnostic Breast Imaging

Tobias Wichmann¹, Rainer Kurth², Christian Geppert², Alexander Weisser¹, Florian Odoj¹, Peter M. Jakob^3,4, Titus Lanz¹

MR imaging has become an important technique for the diagnosis of breast diseases. Crucial for the image quality is the performance of the RF coil. In this study a 16 channel breast phased array coil for 1.5T and 3T each is presented. The coil size is adjustable to match a large variety of breast sizes, thus maintaining high filling factors. Additional elements for explicit axilla coverage are included in the coil. Noise correlation, parallel imaging properties as well as image quality were evaluated. The SNR-performance was compared to a standard 4 channel breast coil.