Designing a Practical Dielectric Lining for a Whole Body Traveling Wave Setup at 7T: Tradeoff Between RF Performance and Ease of Handling

Anna Andreychenko¹, Hugo Kroeze¹, Wouter Koning¹, Alexander J.E. Raaijmakers¹, Froukje E. Euwe², Jan J.W. Lagendijk¹, Peter R. Luijten¹, Dennis W.J. Klomp¹, Cornelis A.T. van den Berg¹

A multi-mode coaxial waveguide was proposed as an alternative to volume body coil at 7T. However, use of the initial design in clinical practice was not feasible. Here, the design was adapted to use together with the patient table in the bore of a clinical MR scanner. With the first in-vivo MR experiments a sufficient RF shimming performance and B1+ efficiency of the modified design was demonstrated. The modified multi-mode coaxial waveguide is significantly easier to handle and, thus, can be effectively applied in clinical practice as a high field body coil at 7T.