Improving SNR and B1 transmit field for an endorectal coil in 7 T MRI and MRS of prostate cancer

Higher magnetic field strengths like 7 T and above are desirable for MR spectroscopy given the increased spectral resolution and signal to noise ratio. At these field strengths, substantial nonuniformities in B1+/− and radiofrequency power deposition become apparent. In this investigation, we propose an improvement on a conventionally used endorectal coil, through the addition of a second element (stripline). Both elements are used as transceivers. In the center of the prostate, approximately 40% signal to noise ratio increase is achieved. In fact, the signal to noise ratio gain obtained with the quadrature configuration locally can be even greater than 40% when compared to the single loop configuration. This is due to the natural asymmetry of the B1+/− fields at high frequencies, which causes destructive and constructive interference patterns. Global specific absorption rate is reduced by almost a factor of 2 as expected. Furthermore, approximately a 4‐fold decrease in local specific absorption rate is observed when normalized to the B1 values in the center of the prostate. Because of the 4‐fold local specific absorption rate decrease obtained with the dual channel setup for the same reference B1 value (20 μT at 3.5 cm depth into the prostate) as compared to the single loop, the transmission power B1 duty cycle can be increased by a factor 4. Consequently, when using the two‐element endorectal coil, the radiofrequency power deposition is significantly reduced and radiofrequency intense sequences with adiabatic pulses can be safely applied at 7 T for 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy and MRI in the prostate. Altogether, in vivo 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging of prostate cancer with a fully adiabatic sequence operated at a minimum B1+ of 20 μT shows insensitivity to the nonuniform transmit field, while remaining within local specific absorption rate guidelines of 10 W/kg. Magn Reson Med, 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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