A Whole-Brain 8-Channel Receive-Only Embedded Array for MRI and fMRI of Conscious Awake Marmosets at 7T.

Daniel Papoti¹, Cecil Chern-Chyi Yen¹, Julie Mackel¹, Hellmut Merkle¹, Afonso C. Silva¹

We have previously devised a helmet restraint system to allow MRI/fMRI experiments of conscious, awake marmosets in a completely non-invasive and comfortable manner. The present work describes the development of a whole-brain 8-channel receive-only surface array for conscious, awake marmosets. Improved SNR is obtained by placing the coil elements on the inner surface of the helmet, to minimize the distance between the array elements and the cortical brain surface. The coil elements are built using flat and flexible conductors and are connected to low input impedance preamplifiers. Results show excellent brain coverage, good coil-to-coil isolation and high sensitivity.