A volume adjustable four-coil phased array for high resolution MR.pdfVIP

M A G M A MagneticResonanceMateriaLsin Physks,BiologyandMedicine E L S E V I E R Magnetic Resonance Materials in Physics, Biology and Medicine 9 1999 59-64 /locate/magma A volume adjustable four-coil phased array for high resolution MR imaging of the hip Wingchi E. Kwok *, Koon K. Lo, G. Seo, Saara M.S. Totterman Department of Radiology. Universityof Rochester Medical Center. 601 EImwood Acenue. Rochester, NY 14642. USA Received 10 March 1999; received in revised form 28 June 1999; accepted 26 July 1999 Abstract A four-coil phased array was specifically designed and built for MR imaging of the hip at 1.5 T. Its RF and imaging properties were evaluated using phantom and in-vivo studies and the results were compared to those of three different commercial coils commonly used for hip imaging. Our coil gave a significantly higher S/N at anatomic locations commonly evaluated for hip diagnosis. The increased S/N supports higher image spatial resolution and improves the visualization of fractures and lateral injuries. 9 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. Kevwords: Custom-built RF coil; Phased array coil; Fractures MRI; MRI physics 1. Introduction study, the performance of a dual phased array coil was compared with that of a non-phased array dual coil, the MR imaging of the hip has been widely used in the dual phased array coil gave better delineation of medical community. Even though MRI is highly accu- anatomical structures in the hip [16]. One study also showed that the pelvic phased array surface coil was the rate in the detection of hip fractures, soft tissue injuries most suitable coil for the hip among commercially and femoral head avascular necrosis AVNs [1-5], its available RF coils [17]. The purpose of this