MR imaging of blood vessels with an intravascular coil

A method for producing high‐resolution magnetic resonance (MR) images of blood vessel walls is described. The authors review a theoretical analysis of receiver‐coil design and present a coil well suited for intravascular MR imaging. The design is based on two coaxial solenoids separated by a gap region and with current driven in opposite directions. Placement of this receiver coil within the vascular space is shown to provide a substantial increase in sensitivity over that of external surface coils. Experimental verification of these predictions was obtained in a vessel phantom in which a 13‐cm surface coil was compared with a 3.5‐mm‐diameter opposed‐solenoid intravascular coil. This intravascular coil had a cylindric region of high sensitivity that offered a 10‐fold improvement in signal‐to‐noise ratio over that of an external coil near the vessel wall. The performance of this coil was also tested in the jugular vein of a swine.

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