Cryogenically cooled transmit/receive RF surface coils (cryocoils) can improve signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) up to 4X1. With flat profile RF pulses, surface coil excitation profiles are highly inhomogeneous, complicating the use of most pulse sequences, and especially the fast and efficient bSSFP sequence. A transmit B1-compensating RF pulse that produces uniform excitation with a Tx/Rx 13C cryo-coil was developed and tested in 3D-FLASH and 3D-bSSFP. Thermal 13C phantom imaging showed a regional uniform excitation, and proof-of-concept time-resolved 3D bSSFP imaging of hyperpolarized [13C]urea was demonstrated in mice.
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