Abstract #4511

Slice-Selective Array-Optimized Composite Pulse for Simultaneous Improvement in Excitation Uniformity and Reduction of SAR

Bu Sik Park^1,2, Kyunghyun Sung³, John McGarrity², Zhipeng Cao^2,4, Sukhoon Oh², Mark Watson⁵, Scott Schilliak⁵, Labros Petropolous⁵, Christopher M. Collins^2,4

¹Bioengineering , The Pennsylvania State University, Hershey, PA, USA; ²Radiology, The Pennsylvania State University, Hershey, PA, USA; ³Radiology, Standford University, Stanford, CA, USA; ⁴Bioengineering, The Pennsylvania State University, Hershey, PA, USA; ⁵MR Instruments Inc., Minneapolis, MN, USA

To overcome challenges of inhomogeneous transmit B1 distribution and high specific absorption rate (SAR) at high field, we present a slice-selective array-optimized composite pulse designed to both improve B1 uniformity and reduce SAR using an 8-channel transmit head array loaded with a head model, and compare our result with the conventional quadrature driving method at 3T. The sequence was implemented on a 3D MRI simulator currently under development, and showed improvement in excitation uniformity and SAR compared to a conventional birdcage coil.