Universal Size-Optimized 48-Channel Phased-Array Receive Head Coil for 3T Clinical fMRI/Silent Imaging Application

Typical high density phased-array head coils are design to fit tightly around the head to achieve increasing SNR and improving acceleration limiting space and excluding its use for larger patients. This study shows the results for an optimized 48-Channel phased-array receive head coil design on a universally sized football helmet-shaped former (fitting to more than 99^th - percentile US male) providing similar SNR and improved acceleration compared to a 32-Channel close-fitting design coil. The performance of this array is demonstrated in highly accelerated head images on variously sized human subjects. This coil is optimized for Hyperband, fMRI and Silent imaging.