2-D full wave solution for the analysis and design of birdcage coils

A simple 2-D full wave model for the birdcage coil is described that includes the effects of shields, lossy layered media, and finite leg widths. This model has been implemented in Matlab, which provides a simple user interface. Using this model, various coil parameters such as signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), magnetic field homogeneity, magnetic field magnitude, etc. can be computed quickly. The efficiency of this model allows optimization of the coil geometry for particular applications. A method for finding the optimal coil radius in terms of SNR and homogeneity, given shield and sample radii, is presented. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Concepts Magn Reson Part B (Magn Reson Engineering) 18B: 15–23, 2003.

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