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Abstract #3080

Magnetic Field Homogenization of the Human Prefrontal Cortex with a Set of Localized Electrical Coils

Christoph Juchem1, Terence W. Nixon1, Scott McIntyre1, Douglas L. Rothman1, Robin A. de Graaf1

1Diagnostic Radiology, MRRC, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA


Large differences in magnetic susceptibility result in strong and highly localized field distortions in the human prefrontal cortex, which cannot be addressed by low-order spherical harmonic shimming. A fixed configuration of external, electrical coils has been developed to provide a localized and high amplitude shim field in the prefrontal cortex with minimum impact on the rest of the brain. The experimental realization enabled us to strongly minimize signal dropout for gradient-echo images and settings typically used in fMRI.