Current Controlled Transmit/Receive Elements in Parallel Excitation and Parallel Imaging

Evgeniya Kirilina¹, Andr Kuehne¹, Tomasz Lindel¹, Werner Hoffmann¹, Thomas Riemer², Frank Seifert¹

Parallel excitation (PEX) techniques are cutting edge MRI applications complementing Parallel Imaging (PI) in its use of RF coil arrays. In conventional, power driven transmit arrays, electromagnetic coupling between the coil elements poses a major challenge since it distorts the excitation profiles of the individual elements and aggravates SAR control during parallel transmission. In this work we demonstrate that coupling issues may be circumvented by applying simple MOSFET based current sources to drive the transmit/receive array. The feasibility of combining PEX and PI for in-vivo experiments is demonstrated using a current controlled transmit and receive (2CONTAR) array is demonstrated.