Development of a Receiver Coil Array for 2D Accelerated Imaging of the Complete Neurovascular System

Petrice Marie Mostardi¹, Eric G. Stinson¹, Thomas C. Hulshizer¹, Phillip J. Rossman¹, Stephen J. Riederer¹

Currently there is no coil that allows for 2D acceleration over the entire head and neck. The purpose of this work was to develop a multi-element receiver coil array that has high SNR and the capability for high (R =4-8) 2D SENSE acceleration from the head through the upper torso. The coil design consists of a newly developed neck/torso array which is used in combination with the clinical 8HRBRAIN coil. The neck/torso array was designed as an eight element linear array wrapped around the neck with three circular elements on each side of the neck and two longer rectangular elements on the anterior neck and chester. In phantom and in vivo studies this coil shows higher SNR and lower g factors than clinically available coils throughout the desired FOV.